Kikuko the Mighty
by DragonGolem
Summary: The name should explain it all. This is a sequel starring the child of Ranma and Birdy on her journeys through the galaxy. Featuring Dirty Pair Flash, Tenchi Muyo, and a few others! Come along on the ride! Complete
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, Dirty Pair Flash, or any of the other anime I may reference.

Author's Notes: I have a fondness for writing sequels as I'm sure you all have guessed. I usually have to write something humorous after writing a serious story. This is a blend of both seriousness and humor. I hope you all enjoy!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 1

The young Galaxy Police recruit smiled brightly as she pondered her future in her future career. Other officers stopped and stared at the rookie girl in wonder. It wasn't just that she was unbelievably hot. It also wasn't her tight uniform. What caught their attention was the fluid way that she walked. No, walking was too vulgar a term. The girl flowed through the hallways. She had to smile at the dumbstruck, and in some cases love struck, looks she was getting. The problem with superior genetics was that you were easily noticed. Before she gave herself a swelled head, the girl brought herself back down to the ground. Today was the day she would be partnered to a more experienced officer. When the chief announced this, he seemed vaguely worried about something, but it couldn't be important. Her new partner's name was Mihoshi.

/-

Mihoshi frowned at what she was seeing. It was the same face that had stared back at her from the mirror every day of her life, but something was wrong. With concentration writ clearly on her face, she pushed her hat an inch to the left and smiled in childish delight. Today was going to be a great day. She was getting a new partner! Kikuko had tested exceptionally well in everything, especially hand to hand, and she was smart enough for three people. That sort of thing excited Mihoshi. Despite what people thought, she did realize what a ditz she was and knew that she needed a lot of help. When someone this much better than her was made her partner, she wasn't upset. Oh no, she was delighted. It meant less pressure on her to do better and that if something goes wrong then someone competent was there to make everything better. With a spring in her step, she went down to the ship. Today was Kikuko's first day on patrol after all.

/-

The blonde stood outside the ship, fidgeting impatiently. Her eyes scanning the area carefully to see where her new partner would come from. The doors opened and a young woman stepped into the ship's hangar. Mihoshi felt vaguely outdone as Kikuko walked up to her. The girl was at least five-foot-nine. Her uniform clung to her well proportioned figure like a second skin and her hair cascaded down her back in loose curls. Her hair was red with purple and blue locks with a few wisps of hair framing her face. Kikuko's large blue eyes sparkled as she regarded her partner, her mouth quirked in a smile. The blonde began feeling definitely inferior and became even more of a ditz than usual.

"H-hi…" she said shyly. Kikuko blinked. She began wondering what could have triggered that. The senior officer was acting like a skittish teenager and not like the professional she should be. The redhead assumed it must be because her reputation preceded her. It drove her mad to find out that everybody knew her parents and kept matching her up to them. Ranma and Birdy Saotome were legends among the Galaxy Police for single-handedly reforming the super criminal Revi and killing the most wanted criminal in the galaxy, Happosai. It was time she took the initiative and introduced herself.

"Hello. I'm Kikuko Saotome. You are…Mihoshi, correct?" when the girl nodded hesitantly, the redhead dropped the formalities and smiled. "Pleased to meet you. Want to be friends?" she held her hand out. Mihoshi blinked but took her hand and pumped it once. Some of the starch returned to her spine and she seemed to visibly perk up.

"Sure we can be friends! C'mon Kiku-chan! Let's go!" the new girl let out a startled 'eep' as she was dragged onto the ship. The redhead began wondering what she had just gotten herself into. Then her new friend said the words that would forever haunt her dreams.

"I'll drive!"

A few months later in a crowded bar far, far, away…-

Karaoke night, another two words that would live on in infamy. Mihoshi was currently up on stage singing a song from one of the latest pop albums on Earth. The crowd was ugly and not just in appearance. The blonde had been hogging the mike all evening and showed no signs of stopping. Kikuko wanted to cry, but martial artists don't cry. At least, they don't cry in public. She promised herself a good, long cry when she got home. If she got home. Her partner seemed to have been cursed with Uncle Ryoga's direction sense. Mihoshi was so nice that it was practically impossible to be angry at her. Then again, some people are just naturally angry. Hence the angry crowd gathering around the stage.

"Shit." She said with deep, heartfelt disgust and resignation. This was not going to be pretty no matter how it went. The girl stood up in her red tee shirt, black jeans and black sneakers. Her hair was pulled back in a high pony-tail and she shrugged on her black leather jacket, metal plates were affixed to the shoulders. Her friend's outfit was a blue dress with white leggings and blue boots. The two of them looked like an angel and a demon. Whenever Mihoshi dressed she just had to coordinate herself with her friend. The crowd certainly wouldn't appreciate such fashion sense, but they could appreciate the way Mihoshi was gyrating and bouncing about.

"Hey baby! Why don't we go out back for a good time!" a guy in the crowd called with a leer. The song faltered. The ditzy police girl wasn't as stupid as they thought she was. A quick count told her she was outnumbered and that this outfit was a stupid idea. Then she saw Kikuko stand up. The numbers were still unfair, but now they were bad for her "admirers". One guy tried to climb onstage, but a slim hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and flung him into a knot of his friends, flattening them.

"Excuse me." Kikuko said in the silence that followed. The men turned to look at her. Her blue eyes burned with her already swelling aura.

"Whaddya want?" one idiot asked.

"Leave her alone or deal with me." She said, her breath coming out in puffs of steam as if the air were cold.

"We got two for the price of one!" another idiot shouted. The crowd suddenly surged in two directions. One group went for the stage while the other went for the irate redhead. Poor guys never stood a chance. The Saotome child wove through her attackers as slick as quicksilver and quicker than greased lighting leaving fallen attackers in her wake. Each blow was powerful enough to incapacitate instantly. The remaining fools began drawing weapons, but weren't given the time needed to use them as the red blur sent them to the floor where they didn't rise again.

"Drawing a weapon on an officer is against the law!" Mihoshi shouted as she whipped out her blaster. The blaster went off several dozen times of it's own accord before she got into the prescribed two handed stance, but there was no need. All her opponents were staring in absolute horror, smoke coming off their clothes and their hair poofed out.

"W-wait! It's Mihoshi! Run away!" one guy in the back cried out as the remaining guys ran for their lives. Who hadn't heard the tales of the combat genius who pretended to be a ditzy blonde girl? Her name was legendary and was synonymous with destruction. It was with these thoughts in mind that the men took off running and didn't stop. Mihoshi blinked. Kikuko blinked. A man groaned in the corner. That did it. The two girls started laughing. The blonde stumbled off the stage, laughing her head off as her friend fell against her for support. The police women slumped to the ground laughing as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Th-that was priceless!" Kikuko gasped when she managed to get a breath.

"Did you see their faces?" Mihoshi crowed with laughter as she struggled to regain her composure. The two of them were certainly an odd couple, but it was hard to deny that they were friends. In the time the two of them had known each other they'd been in more danger than anyone had a right to be. Lucky for them, Mihoshi was an idiot savant with an unknown number of skills and Kikuko happened to be one of the greatest martial artists in the universe. Their name was even more feared than the Dirty Pair, whoops, that's Lovely Angels. Speaking of the Lovely Angels, the 3WA had requested some assistance. Back to work.

"C'mon…Let's go back to the ship." Kikuko said as she helped her still laughing companion back to her feet before leading her back to the ship. How this odd couple remained friends, no one knew. One was hyper intelligent and competent while the other was a ditz and incompetent. It was just one of those things.

On the way to 3WA HQ-

Kei and Yuri were on their way to meet the GP officers that were assigned to help them on their latest assignment. The young girls were hardly older than seventeen and looked to be anything but capable. Those who knew them knew for a fact that they weren't capable, but had the Devil's own luck that had seen them through on more than one occasion. The two were supposed to be heading back to World's World. Apparently a madman had begun infecting the harmless androids and turning them into things capable of killing. Fortunately, no one has been killed yet, but the spaceport has been shut down to quarantine the virus that was causing it.

Kei was a well built girl with a natural dark tint to her skin that looked like a healthy tan. A red vest was worn over a white body suit that resembled a bathing suit that showed plenty of cleavage. She had on red bracers and red shorts, her shoes were red and black. Her hair was two-tone, blonde predominant with a wild tuft of orange hair; green eyes completed her appearance as did the red choker. Her partner Yuri was a slender girl who wore a blue bodysuit with a white vest that showed the underside of her breasts, a button holding the vest closed. Half gloves were on her hands. Her eyes were blue with long, flowing purple hair. She was wearing a strange white skirt that showed her hips. Her skin was delicately pale. Men generally fell over themselves to get a better look and see if the view was better from the front or behind. As one particular man got too persistent, a hand shot out, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and hurled him into a row of trashcans. The Lovely Angels spun around to see what that was and came face to face with a gorgeous redheaded girl that appeared to be a little older than them and an attractive blonde girl whose skin was the same shade as Kei's.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Kei asked eloquently.

"That guy was tryin' to cop a feel. What kind of person would I be if I allowed that to happen?" the redhead asked with a smile.

"Guys like that should be locked in cages…" the blonde said with a thin veneer of calm that was containing her anger.

"Oh I know exactly what you mean! It's a crime to be so beautiful!" Yuri proclaimed dramatically. The others sweatdropped at the announcement, but let it slide. The redheaded girl suddenly slapped her forehead.

"How rude of us! My name's Kikuko and this is my friend Mihoshi." She gestured to the blonde. The green eyed one blinked before laughing.

"That's kind of funny…I'm got a cousin from back home named Mihoshi. Ran off to be a Galaxy Police officer." She laughed so hard she thought she would pee herself, but Mihoshi's next words stopped the laughter.

"Kei?" the other girl nodded dumbly just before the blonde squealed and glomped onto her little cousin. The girl began waving her arms frantically as old memories came flooding back. The only reason Kei was as strong and durable as she is today is because of these hugs, and all the bad luck that would follow them when they were together. Yuri giggled.

"So she's your crazy cousin!" the girl exclaimed before laughing hysterically.

"Y-you think I'm crazy?" Mihoshi whimpered pathetically. Kei quickly hugged the older girl.

"No! Of course I don't! W-why would I think that? Heh heh…" the girl was behaving strangely to Yuri. She wasn't normally so nice. When she asked Kikuko about it, the redhead shrugged.

"She has that effect on people." She replied. The reunion continued for quite some time as the four began walking in the same direction. They talked about a variety of things. If Yuri was guiding the conversation it turned into boys and fashion. If Kei was leading it was guns and high explosives. Mihoshi tended to go all over with the conversation, but Kikuko didn't talk about martial arts. They made it to the 3WA building and prepared to go their separate ways. After a tearful farewell, the four girls began walking…up the stairs. The two duos looked at each other in curiosity. As the explanations came out, it quickly became apparent that they would be working together. The director's office came into view. The secretary seemed less than enthusiastic about seeing them. With everything Kikuko had heard she could understand why. They caused more destruction than Vash the Stampede. She shuddered as she wondered what they had gotten themselves into.

"Kami help us…"

End Chapter

Author's Notes: First chapter is ready to go! Next chapter will be ready soon as well! What could possibly go wrong for our heroines? With the Dirty Pair and Mihoshi, a lot. Stay tuned for the next part of this exciting story! Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, Dirty Pair Flash, or any of the other animes mentioned.

Author's Notes: Multi-cross ahoy! As if my already overactive imagination was bad enough, now I'm dragging other poor anime characters into the chaos. For those of you wondering if Ranma or Birdy will show up, fear not! I have a plan! (Insert maniacal laugh #74 here) So, with that out of my system… let's get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 2

Life has a funny way of doing things to you. You join the Galaxy Police and find yourself partnered with a person who defines the term "idiot savant", get into numerous bar fights over karaoke, and get paired up with the Dirty Pair. To normal person this would be a catastrophe, but to Kikuko Saotome of the Anything Goes Style Martial Arts and Galaxy Police officer, this was actually kind of fun. If her mom were here she'd probably flip. She reflected on these things as they flew along in the Lovely Angel, the ship of the 3WA trouble consultants they were assigned to help. Officially, the Lovely Angels were in charge, but they gladly deferred to the GP officers. When asked why they replied that they didn't want to do it in the first place. Mihoshi being related to one of them was kind of a surprise. Kei seemed to be a loose cannon, but you couldn't doubt her skills. Whether it was with guns or hand to hand, she seemed to be the better of the two girls, but her partner Yuri was no slouch either. The laser blade she wielded could cut through three-inch titanium. That was certainly nothing to sneeze at. Her mind drifted lazily back to the meeting in the office.

Director's Office-

The Director sat at the desk, hands folded in front of him, waiting for them to come in. He had to stop his involuntary reflex when he saw Kikuko step into the room. The girl was an absolute fox. He mastered his growing desire and forced down his hormones. It was time to be professional. The banes of his existence were standing at attention next to the redheaded girl and the blonde. That much loveliness would have overloaded the brain of a lesser and induced a fit of lust so great it would make Happosai gape in amazement, but he was better than that. Someone clearing their throat brought him back.

"Ah yes! You are officers Mihoshi and Kikuko, correct?" he asked. The girls stood a little straighter at attention. The Director absently wondered if that was how real professionals were supposed to act before proceeding.

"This is an urgent matter calling for total cooperation between the 3WA and the Galaxy Police in the apprehension of a cyber criminal that has been running around on World's World. Toma was the first person called when the computer began going haywire, but he needs help to protect him from the external threats. Basically, you let the expert do his job and you do your jobs. Understand?" he asked. Kei was picking her ear and nodding absently while Yuri stared at the ceiling, humming a tune. Mihoshi and Kikuko on the other hand were nodding attentively before striking a smart salute. Mihoshi may not have been listening either, but at least she made it look like she was listening. She knew she could trust Kikuko to remember anything important. The redhead in question knew without looking that it was all up to her to keep the group going. The Director groaned at the lack of attention from his operatives, but dismissed them anyway. When the girls left, his phone rang.

"Hello? Yes, they're on their way. Don't worry, all is going according to plan." He assured the person on the phone before hanging up. With a strange smile he sat back in his seat and propped his legs up on his desk.

"They'll never know what hit 'em!" he laughed maniacally before overbalancing and falling down with a loud thud.

The Lovely Angel-

Kikuko stared out the window as the powerful ship effortlessly flowed through space. Their own ship couldn't move like this and it sort of made her testy. The other girls were chattering away without a care in the world. The redhead was feeling a little resentful. She only had one Mihoshi to worry about usually, but these other two were about the same maturity level as her it seemed. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall more. She could probably perform a reasonably powerful Shishi Hokodan with the amount of depression she was feeling. Couple all these problems with her upcoming birthday and it was easy to realize why she was upset.

Mihoshi kept sneaking glances at her friend. Normally her pal was a cheerful person, but right now all traces of that were gone. She was a fairly good judge of people, but it didn't take an expert to figure out that she was depressed. The police girl wondered how she was going to make her feel better. At the inquisitive looks she was getting from her cousin, she gestured to Kikuko. A look of understanding passed between them. Unbeknownst to the girl in question, her three companions were really talking about how to make her feel better, but also how to find out what had her depressed in the first place.

"Why is she so down?" Kei asked.

"I'm not sure, but we should do something." Mihoshi suggested.

"Stop worrying! We're going to World's World you know. It's a huge amusement park. There must be a ton of fun things to do. All we should worry about is finding out what she likes to do." Yuri said.

"That's easy! She loves martial arts and practices almost constantly. You're ship is nice and fast, but it doesn't have a cargo bay big enough for her to train in like ours does. That could be part of why she's upset." The police girl said.

"Maybe we could get her to teach us! You think that would cheer her up?" her enthusiastic cousin asked.

"If she's depressed than more work won't make her feel better." The pilot said scathingly. Mihoshi looked over to Kikuko with a speculative look.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. Once she had the girl's attention she continued. "We'll be arriving on World's World shortly. Since there will be so much space down there, think you could teach us some of your school?" The redhead seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Well…Okay." She didn't sound all that enthusiastic, but to Mihoshi she looked happier. The Dirty Pair…I mean…Lovely Angels looked at each other in surprise. Someday they hoped to be that close, but neither would admit it to the other. What they weren't counting on was the trouble that would erupt as soon as they reached their destination.

World's World-

Everything looked normal in the skies above the resort planet. It was hard to believe that anything sinister was going on down there. The last time the pair had been here was with Toma and that was pure hell. Sure, it was fun, but the almost negligent way the man had acted in the face of the danger he was in had worn their nerves down to nothing. Now they were back to once again protect the man who had no concept of personal safety with two Galaxy Police officers along for the ride. Yuri wanted to cry. If this turned out anything like the last time then she was going to have some words with the director. It would certainly feel good to act like Kei for once. Her partner was having roughly the same thoughts, but in her mind she was wondering what bone to break first or if she should emasculate him. The com unit buzzed. Kei picked up the receiver.

"This is the Lovely Angel requesting clearance to land." Might as well appear professional. The voice crackling through the handset was worried.

"Kei? You have to get out of there! The automated defense systems have been overridden and there are several jets chasing you!" Toma's voice crackled through. Kei was about to say something, but Yuri's panicked exclamation cut through whatever it was she was going to say.

"We have several bogies after us!" she brought them up on the rear view screen. They looked like perfectly normal jets until the wings extended outward more, twin blasters pop out from hidden weapon caches as well as a plasma disk shooter. Until that point Kei was ready to discount them as nothing, but now she was close to gibbering. That much heavy artillery was crazy.

"This isn't good is it?" Mihoshi asked worriedly. Her cousin shot her a look.

"No duh! Yuri, get us out of here!" the girl from Workoh dropped into the copilot's seat and fastened herself in. Her purple haired companion was getting ready to take off when the blonde exclaimed.

"Where's Kikuko?" she asked, almost in hysterics. A quick scan of the ship produced no results, but when the entry hatch near the rear opened, they tuned in just in time to see the redhead flip out and onto the top of the ship. She stood with her feet spaced evenly, fists clenched at her sides. Her ponytail was waving in the breeze like a fiery banner. The enemy planes' blasters suddenly trained on her. With a grin she brought both arms up over her head, a distortion of wind gathering around her hands before she suddenly slashed down with a double knife hand. The distortion flew quickly at two targets before shearing through them effortlessly, destroying the two planes and any too close to them when they exploded.

"What the hell was that?" Kei practically screamed.

"Wow…I've only seen her us the Kishin Ryu Dan once…It creates vacuum blades that can cut through nearly anything." Mihoshi told her expertly. The only reason she knows so much was because she nearly walked in front of the lethal attack and Kikuko had to tell her about it. The other two boggled at the implications before staring at the screen again as the girl held her right fist out, her left hand gripped her wrist tightly as if bracing for something. She shouted something, but there was no audio. If they could read lips they would have understood the attack. "Golden Halo Blade" Her hand lit up with a bright golden glow before a massive blade of pure life energy erupted from her clenched fist before she whipped it around in a wide arc that sheared through the remaining attackers. With a grin, she prepared to jump back into the ship until the intercom system blared to life.

"Can you do anything about what's coming at us?" Yuri sounded panicked over the com system. The redhead looked to what she was talking about and blinked. It looked like a naval destroyer, but it was flying. The front had opened up into a massive cannon with a long prong coming out from the barrel. The prong began glowing white at the tip as particle energy began gathering into the barrel, the sheer amount of power gathering made the girl's hair stand on end. The three in the cockpit groaned as she merely stood up and held her palms out. It looked like she was trying to surrender, until a ball of blue light gathered in her palms. The smile on their friend's face was positively frightening as she threw her hands forward, launching the ball of ki into the barrel of the ship. She dived back inside the Lovely Angel, crying out into the com unit.

"Get the hell outta here!" Yuri didn't need to be told twice as she hauled upward on the wheel, clearing the ship just as a rumbling was heard deep inside the war machine. The powerful weapon exploded in a blaze of heat and sound that shattered windows all the way up and down the street of the city scene. When the flaming wreck crashed down, it smashed into a power transformer that was right next to a gas station with real working gas pump. That little touch would cost the besieged planet dearly as a single spark ignited and blew the gas station into oblivion. The gas pipes interlocking through the simulated city streets erupted in flames and massive explosions. Buildings that were meant to withstand even sudden atmospheric depressurization were twisted into molten wrecks of steel of concrete. The whole city below the majestically soaring ship collapsed in upon itself as flames soared higher and higher. The crew stared in utter wonder and awe at the devastation. Kikuko was brought out of her thoughts by a clap to the shoulder.

"That was better than we coulda done!" Kei said enthusiastically. The redhead merely buried her face in her hands and groaned.

World's World Nerve Center-

The Lovely Angels had certainly lived up to their reputations. While they personally didn't blow everything to smithereens, they were directly responsible for Kikuko Saotome and the Blonde Wonder, Mihoshi, being there to do it for them. According to the camera footage, a bolt of blue energy, akin to high-grade plasma, erupted from the redhead's palms and down the barrel of the massive particle gun. While the ship was made to neutralize its own core to prevent explosions of this magnitude, it just had to land on the only gas pump in the city. Luckily the planet had been evacuated of all non-essential personnel, currently all living in the Nerve Center.

Toma was thrilled to see them. The lanky young man with the glasses and light brown hair was smiling wide. Despite his blue body suit, he reminded Kikuko of Doctor Tofu. It was easy to like him. The young man contracted a mild case of Tofu syndrome in the presence of Yuri. It was almost painful for the young redhead to watch as he barely managed to keep it together in the purple haired vixen's presence.

"Toma!" she squealed happily as she rushed forward to greet her friend.

"Hey Toma!" Kei called with some enthusiasm, but not even half as much as her bouncy friend. Mihoshi and Kikuko spared a glance at each other before snickering wildly. The way that the three of them were acting was comical to the two older girls. The young man seemed nice enough, but unfortunately this wasn't the time or the place for socializing.

"Excuse me." The redhead interrupted. When she had everyone's attention, she smiled.

"Who are they?" the computer expert asked.

"We're from the Galaxy Police! I'm Mihoshi and this is Kikuko!" the ever cheerful blonde indicated herself and her redheaded companion. He seemed to take them both in at a glance before his eyes went back to Yuri.

"We're here to protect you again." The girl said with a sweet smile. Kei sidled over to the officers while Toma and Yuri caught up, quickly finding something funny to talk about as the computer tech headed back to his work. The shorter girl following after.

"She pretended to be totally indifferent to him the entire time we were here last time, but when it looked like he had died, she was the first to cry. She claimed it was cuz she didn't wanna go back with a failure, but it nagged me y'know? Yuri could have any guy she wants, but they're always the wrong type. Yet Toma is kinda nice and can be wild on occasion." Kei confided as the owner headed over from behind Mihoshi.

"Well, as much as I would like to help along the course of love, we need to keep a level head at all times. Still, it wouldn't hurt to actually have someone who cares about him keep an eye on him. If he's comfortable than protecting him will be easier and he'll be less likely to question strange requests. Mihoshi, you help Yuri okay? I know how good you can be **if you focus**! We can't screw this up. After our interesting entrance, we have several strikes against us. Kei and I will form the investigative team. Toma can handle things on this end, but if we can find the external source, the investigation can be cleared up and we can go home sooner. Got it?"

The president of World's World blinked in astonishment at the level of organization being displayed before him. Kei thought that Mihoshi was the senior officer, but with the way her cousin deferred to the redhead, it seemed it was the other way around. Still, a plan was better than nothing, and a good plan was even harder to come by. The impulsive girl sighed as she realized that she was growing up. Mihoshi knew that she wasn't the best at what she did, preferring direction as opposed to giving it, so her partner's sudden step in as leader took a lot of the weight from her shoulders. A gentle cough interrupted them.

"Welcome back to World's World, Kei. Where's Yuri?" the man asked.

"She's with Toma. Oh yeah, this is Kikuko and Mihoshi. They're from the Galaxy Police." Kei introduced the two as they stood briefly at attention.

"Who is the leader?" he asked. Kikuko flushed when her partner at Kei both pointed at her. It felt nice, but she also realized that if anything went wrong, it would all fall on her head.

"Apparently I am." She responded.

"It's never easy to bear the mantle of leader, but you look capable. We have an idea about where the trouble may be coming from. I was worried about how to get you inside, but with this morning's stunt…" the three gulped "A great number of security systems were knocked out so it shouldn't be hard. Oh Mihoshi. You're staying with Yuri? Okay. Right through there." He gestured. The ditz wandered off to join Yuri while the other two listened patiently. Apparently the target was a place in the southern edge of the city. It hadn't been hit as hard as the other areas, but it would still be rough going. Some of the melted places were still hot so caution was of the utmost necessity. It was the exact same place as the computer criminal used during their last time here. This was going to be so simple, Kei thought. Her redheaded companion had a different thought.

"This is way too easy." She thought grimly.

Computer Lab-

Mihoshi sat on the floor with her back against the wall, a manga in her hand. She was forced to endure the boring and grueling task of watching a computer geek do what he does best: being a geek. The young man was playing with holographic view screens that were situated all around him, emanating from his lap top. He seemed to be staring somehow at all of them at once, much to Yuri's amazement. The blonde couldn't understand how such an active girl would fall for such a geek, but then again love was blind, and apparently silly too. She didn't have the full background story so she didn't understand anything about what was going on. With a frustrated sigh, she went back to her manga. As soon as her head went down, Yuri flashed an irritated look at her. Toma was pretending to be oblivious, there was no point in losing his cool. It obviously bothered his purple haired friend.

"I can't believe that girl." She muttered peevishly.

"It's alright Yuri, she didn't do anything." He tried to placate her.

"Exactly! She doesn't do anything and then has the nerve to ask if you got solitaire. I don't like trusting your safety to her." She folded her arms under her chest angrily. Toma had to fight a fleeting thought about how cute she looked. He knew that she could be scary if she directed that look at you, but right now she was cute.

"Whose turn is it to go on patrol?" the blonde asked from behind her comic book. Yuri visibly fumed.

"I went the last time…and the time before that…and the time before that…oh yeah! I did it two more times as well! It's YOUR TURN!" she shrieked. They had been sitting there for over four hours and it was really getting to her. She could swear a vein was getting ready to explode from her forehead. Her fingers itched to whip out her beam sword or to try out her new toy, the bloody card. Either one would get the job done. Surely Toma would allow that. She looked hopefully towards the genius programmer who simply reached out and lightly ruffled her hair. The touch soothing her and she felt a smile cross her face. He went back to his work and she went back to being calm, but Mihoshi picked that time to groan.

"Oh fine! I'll go…ya meanie." The police girl grumbled mutinously as she stood up and made sure her blaster was secure before flicking the safety strap off for quicker drawing. The girl shuffled out as if she didn't really care or had sleep problems. Either way, it instantly annoyed the already frazzled girl. Toma touched her hair again and she calmed back down. She looked shyly at the young man who merely gave her a simple smile before going back to his work.

"…She's not all that bad." Yuri found herself admitting.

"Hm?" Toma murmured.

"I mean, she can be a ditz and a klutz, but she's pretty nice. Mihoshi just gets on my nerves. She acts like…like…" she faltered.

"You?" the young man asked as he keyed up a few more sub routines.

"No way do I act like that!" Yuri became furious until he waved a finger at her.

"Not anymore, but when I first met you I could scarcely believe that you were capable of anything but being cute. Now I see you as you are. A kind, caring young woman who does her best and always tries her hardest. Back then you didn't care about anything but fashion and having the time of your life. I'm glad to know you." He stated simply and quietly. The girl could feel her heart thudding in her chest as he turned back to his work, but something seemed to be distracting him now. Finally he put the laptop down and disengaged the holographic screens.

"W-what is it?" she stammered. 'Dammit! Why am I so nervous now?' She thought furiously. As he turned to her, she quietly slid forward until they were closer. It was like magnetism, two polar opposites drawn to each other by a force bigger than themselves to create a greater whole. The kiss was absolutely mind blowing for the young girl. She'd been kissed before of course, but nothing this sweet. He didn't demand anything and she was ready to give him her all.

It would have continued, but a thunderous explosion rocked the room just seconds before Mihoshi executed a triple flip and a perfect landing from the shadowed entryway, blaster drawn and spitting hot laser death. Yuri quickly interposed herself between Toma and the menace that suddenly appeared. It was fully eight feet tall and looked just like the androids created for the park. It roared in mechanical fury as it stepped closer, ignoring the numerous laser burns and holes that peppered its body.

"Yeah eat this!" Mihoshi cried as she suddenly withdrew a huge buster rifle from her police issue cube storage and jacked her blaster into it. She mounted the massive weapon on her shoulder. It was fully six feet long with a grip at the middle of the gun and one on the side created by the integrated blaster. It had a shoulder mount to be more comfortable. It looked like two cylindrical segments were joined together by a strange metal spiral. The gun began revving up, energy arcing along the whole length of the weapon, but before she could fire the thing's hand lashed out to decapitate her.

"Get away from her!" Yuri shouted as she whipped out her blade and severed its arm from its body. The android was dumbfounded by the loss of an appendage and the police girl took full advantage of the situation to fire off the buster rifle. The burst of energy erupted from the barrel and struck the thing solidly in the chest, disintegrating it.

"All right! We did it!" Mihoshi exclaimed happily.

"We sure did! Right Toma?" Yuri turned to ask him, but stared in horror. The spot they had left him in was now dominated by a large hole, plenty of debris, but no Toma.

"T-Toma…? Toma!" she screamed as she rushed to find him. Mihoshi glowered angrily at the hole. Something inside of her had snapped. Without any flourish, she activated the cube and suddenly was wearing her combat outfit. She looked like a bunny girl, but the look in her eyes told anyone who looked that the cheerful girl was taking a holiday.

"…Come with me or stay here. If you want him back, you'll come with me." The blonde said seriously before jumping down the hole. The purple haired girl stared after in shock, but quickly got over it as she jumped down after her.

Downtown-

Kikuko and Kei were amazed at the sheer level of devastation that had been wreaked on this town. The redhead felt even more embarrassed when her current partner slapped her on the back again, laughing her head off. The reports of the heat were more than accurate. In some places, liquid steel still dripped from the buildings, gathering in pools. It wasn't too hard to dodge, but it still took up their concentration. An authentic recreation of a construction site was where they were set. The android manufacturing plant had been torn down because of its easy accessibility, but a good number of vital hook ups were still there.

"Wow, sure looks different than the last time I was here…" the orange haired girl said in surprise.

"Good thing we knew where to look or we'd never have seen it." Kikuko figured it was a good place, right out in plain sight. Usually that was the best place to hide things, but obviously it worked against them this time.

"I wouldn't want to see what kind of security system this place has." Kei mused to herself until she suddenly felt a vibration run through the ground. She didn't even need to look to know that her companion had felt it too.

"Where is it?" the girl from Workoh asked even as she whipped out her custom blaster.

"Right below us…but I can force it up!" the redhead announced even as she began gathering her power in just before striking the ground with two fingers.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" she cried. The two girls leapt away from the rapidly collapsing ground, but true to her word, the horror below the earth was forced to the surface. It looked like a giant snake with a drill on the "nose". Thick treads lined its body all the way down. Twin Vulcan Guns popped out from the head portion as a plasma disc launcher popped out under the head. The girls landed, taking stock of their situation.

"You were right about bringing that thing to the surface!" the girl exclaimed. As she pulled out her blaster, a clear capsule suddenly appeared, revealing Toma. Kei blinked in astonishment before reorienting her gun and firing. The snake dodged downward and the blast glanced off the capsule.

"Stop! That thing's too fast! We need to slow it down…" she thought even as an idea came to her. Slipping into the Umi-Sen-Ken, she lunged at the metal monstrosity, but a sporadic burst from the Vulcan guns forced her back to the ground, bullets through her shoulder and hip. Kei reached her just in time to leap away with the girl in her arms. She wasn't fast enough as she sensed the drill plunging for her back. If something didn't happen soon she was skewered! A man's angry shout echoed across the destroyed cityscape.

"Moko Takabisha!" the powerful blast of ki rocketed out and demolished the thing's head. The capsule shattered, dumping out an unconscious Toma, but before he could strike the ground, a red blur snagged him out of the air and set him down gently. As Kei made her way back, she took notice of the man first. He was easily five-foot-ten or so wearing red and black, his black hair was tied back in a pigtail. The woman was a little shorter with the same red hair, right down to the purple and blue that Kikuko had. The girl in her arms stirred, bullets visibly being pushed from her rapidly healing flesh, her eyes flashed open.'

"Is it gone?" she asked groggily, but a pleasant voice got her attention.

"Yes it is dear." Kikuko sprang out of her rescuer's arms and ran to her mother to give her a big hug. Her father also wrapped his arms around them.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"We couldn't forget your birthday now could we?" the man chuckled. Kei blinked. 'Birthday? Is that why she was so down?' she wondered.

"Where are your manners. Whose your friend?" her mother asked.

"Oh sorry! Mom, Dad, this is Kei. She's one of the girls I work with. Kei, these are my parents. Ranma and Birdy Saotome." Kei looked startled beyond belief. She's heard of them before, who hadn't? They were legends in law enforcement! Able to do things that ordinary beings could never hope to accomplish even separately, but together they were unstoppable.

"O-oro…?" she asked in confusion before fainting dead on the spot.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Gomen nasai! I didn't realize I was behind on my writing, but I'm glad that I could finish today. The next chapter will have two people that everyone was wondering about. Ranma and Birdy. The ones who started it all, but can even with these two legendary super cops, can they hope to succeed against a planet turned against them? This will be one brawl that will go down in the record books! Tune in next time for the next installment of Kikuko the Mighty.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash.

Author's Notes: This story is a lot of fun to write. Sequels usually fail due to a lack of appreciation of the first story, the author growing bored, or the audience growing bored. I just hope that I can keep this is as much fun as the original if not more so. I would like to thank all of you reading this story and who have been reading since the beginning. Thank you. Now to get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 3

The Saotomes were laughing about something when Kei came to. When she asked how long she was out, she was assured that it was only a few minutes, but that didn't lessen her embarrassment. She fainted in front of the two greatest police officers in the galaxy. Ranma and Birdy were sitting with their daughter waiting for Toma to wake up. That was another thing to be embarrassed about. He was supposed to be safe and sound with Yuri and Mihoshi, but here he was across the city from where he started. Kei was so deep in thought that she didn't realize she was being addressed until the third try.

"What?" she asked intelligently. Even to her she sounded pissy. The man looked startled for a minute before roaring with laughter that only served to tick her off even more. His wife stared at him before smacking him upside his head. Ranma looked sheepish and Birdy looked exasperated. Their daughter simply rolled her eyes at their antics.

"My husband was trying to tell you that your friend is waking up." Birdy said. Toma was sitting up and looking about in confusion at the people around him, but then his eyes oriented on Kei.

"Kei! Where's Yuri? I remember being back at the computer terminal when I woke up here." He said with concern heavy in his voice. The girl shook her head.

"I don't know." She said as her eyes looked over her new friend and her family. It was nice to see such a happy picture, but she was suddenly very worried about her purple haired friend. Ranma was staring down the hole in the ground, tapping his foot impatiently.

"C'mon Mihoshi! I can sense you down there! Hurry up!" he shouted down. The sound of rocks sliding and muted straining was faintly heard. Mihoshi finally made it out of the hole.

"Officer Mihoshi, reporting for duty sir!" she saluted smartly. Too smartly because she cracked herself in the forehead and only Ranma quickly grabbing her arm prevented her from falling back down, but he almost dropped her when a purple blur leapt out of the pit and on the edge of the hole. She smiled wide.

"Hi! I'm Yuri! Where's Toma…?" she peered around before spotting him. With a happy squeal she launched herself at him, performing a glomp to make an Amazon proud. The young man looked visibly relieved and hugged her back. It was a touching scene. Kei ran over to join her friends as the four GP gathered together around a shocked Ranma.

"How did she jump like that?" he asked in confusion.

"She actually comes from a planet with one and a half times the gravity of Earth. Added to that is the fact that World's World is three quarters the size of Earth. With all that counting in her favor…" Kikuko shrugged. Her father boggled while Birdy giggled over the look on her husband's face.

"Also Kei comes from a similar planet, same planet I came from, but she's stronger than I am. Poor girl blames me for her being so strong." Mihoshi said with a shake of her head. Ranma sweatdropped.

"So you guys came to celebrate my birthday?" the young redhead asked in excitement.

"Of course! Your siblings couldn't make it, but they send their best. Unfortunately, before we can have fun, we need to know what's going on." Birdy said. The elder Saotomes were apprised of the situation, but what surprised their daughter most was when they declined helping them.

"B-but…!" Kikuko started but her mother interrupted her.

"We can't just bail you out y'know. This is your assignment." Her father said. End of discussion. Arrangements were made to meet for dinner later and her friends were even invited. Goodbyes were said, and to everyone but Kikuko's astonishment, the couple vanished into thin air.

"D-did they just…" Kei stammered.

"No, they did not disappear. They took off running towards the management office." The redhead said. Toma was busily typing away at his laptop that he had somehow managed to stow away. Yuri was leaning against him as he worked.

A couple hours later-

"Hmmm…I almost got it, but I can't quite…" he started to say, but the purple-haired girl seemed to see something.

"What if you did…this?" she tapped a few keys despite his protests before staring in wonder. He tapped another few keys, totally lost in his own little world before a round of gasps drew his attention. When he looked over to see what they were staring at, he gasped as well. A huge ship had suddenly manifested above the construction site, wires were connected to it through several ports along the outer hull. There was no damage to the ship whatsoever because of the force field around it. When he scanned it with his computer he made an unmanly squeak of shock. The girls looked at him as he began babbling.

"Th-that's the Soja! Kagato's ship." He stammered. At Kei and Yuri's confused looks he explained. Kagato was one of the most brilliant scientific minds in the universe, second only to Washu, whose main goal has been to increase his own power and rule the universe by capturing the power of Tsunami and the Light Hawk wings. He was wanted for more crimes than a normal person could count and was considered to be extremely dangerous.

"So that's Kagato…" Mihoshi said with an unusual anger in her voice.

"If we're going to take him down then we need to decide how we're going to fight him." Kikuko said.

"We do have the Lovely Angel. Our ship's firepower combined with your ship's and your own abilities should be able to punch a good sized hole in him." Kei suggested. It was the best idea any of them could come up with. The thing that was bothering the redhead the most was…

"Why hasn't he done anything to us yet?"

The skies over World's World-

The two spacecrafts streaked in towards their target. Kei and Yuri had been surprised when the ship had suddenly appeared when all Mihoshi had done was throw off her earring. The GP ship had greater firepower but was slower than the sleek ship flying beside it. The Lovely Angel separated into two ships; one had the power and was piloted by Kei while the other had the speed and was piloted by Yuri. A smaller "craft" was shooting towards the fight as well. It was a nine-foot high suit of mechanical power armor done in red and black. Piloting the armor was Kikuko. It was specially made by her sister to boost her attacks. The mech was humanoid with black legs, red armored torso and shoulder pads with black arms. The twin engine booster pack blazed with plasma power. Mihoshi was piloting the GP ship. The Soja was in view.

"Preparing for final approach. According to Toma, if we focus our attacks on one spot we should be able to punch through the field. Let's go!" Yuri shouted as the engines of her ship suddenly blazed into action, followed closely by Kei, Mihoshi, and Kikuko. An eerie feeling settled over the girls as they tried to figure out why the ship wasn't attacking. Even now it was just sitting there like a lump. There was no help for it. They had to try. The three in the ships switched their main guns to full power while the redhead began gathering in her chi. The weapons were quickly at full power as the glowing ball of life energy flared gold in Kikuko's mech hands.

"Let's do it!" Kei shouted as they set their sights on the side of the ship. Target acquired at the same time, targeting computers in synch with one another.

"Fire!" four voices shouted in unison. Bolts of blue plasma were joined by a bolt of golden radiance, all trained on the engine protruding from the ship. The joined attack ripped through the force field as if it were paper before smashing through the ship's engine causing a chain reaction that resulted in the whole engine array exploding in a violent burst of plasma flame. It was very impressive as the gouts of loose plasma streamed across the sky while the ship crashed down, but before they could celebrate, they were hailed by a strange com system.

"Hmph…Not bad at all ladies, but you're out of your league." The voice sounded amused, with a thin layer of malice.

"Kagato!" Mihoshi hissed in recognition. The others were trying to figure out how it could be him when suddenly the exploding ship vanished and reappeared in the sky as if nothing had happened, but something was visibly different. For one thing, the Soja had become **much** bigger and the weapons array was even more incredible. The force field around the ship was definitely improved.

"Get out of there! It's a trap!" Toma shouted over the com system, but it was too late. The Soja opened fire, beams of intense energy erupted out from the sides and curled out to annihilate the puny ships that dared attack him, but his victory was short lived. The Lovely Angel suddenly came together again, a powerful field generator sprouted from the back. The beams slammed into the dome shaped barrier that deflected the rays instead of trying to block them, hovering in front of the Galaxy Police ship. The GP ship lent power to the generator. Kikuko breathed a sigh of relief as the beams stopped, but a laugh interrupted the brief respite.

"Such coordination! If only my other opponents had such team spirit! Pity that it all amounts to naught but an annoyance. Still, take it to your graves that you actually managed to give me a rough time!" Kagato laughed as the weapons powered up again for another volley.

"What do we do?" Yuri demanded in panic. The shield was taxed and overheated it couldn't withstand another blow. Kei was in a panic as well, but it wasn't the time to freak out.

"Toma! What options do we have?" she called out. The computer genius hadn't failed them yet and this time was no exception.

"The Lovely Angel and the Galaxy Police cruiser ship have similar linkage units." He began, but was interrupted by Mihoshi.

"Those are used only for docking procedures only! They can't be used to combine ships like the Lovely Angel!" she protested.

"Stop it Mihoshi! This may be our only shot!" Kikuko cried out. Toma resumed his explanation in the brief time they had.

"Okay, the same company that made the Lovely Angel also made your cruiser so the linkage units can be used together. I have removed the fail-safe protocols. Better hurry or you won't have time to fight!" he sounded genuinely worried so the two teams forced down their skepticism and agreed. The Galaxy Police cruiser flew to the Lovely Angel as it separated. The back of the front component remained open as the front of the GP ship opened, a connection rod extending before linking tightly with the front just as the back of the Lovely Angel flew around and fitted tightly to the back of the ship. The combined systems flared to life, the unified system greater than the sum of its parts. What further surprised the three girls was when another hatch opened up in the rear to admit Kikuko.

"Now what do you think you're doing? This won't help you at all!" Kagato roared as he unleashed another barrage of lasers. The fused ship easily withstood the bombardment, much to the madman's chagrin.

"Now let's take this guy out!" the redhead said as link cables shot out from her mech connecting her to the compartment area she was in just as cables from the wall jacked into her systems.

"Weapon systems on-line! Bringing the main gun up to full power!" Kei read the power output in astonishment.

"Shields holding at seventy-four percent and holding steady!" Mihoshi tapped the instruments in wonder at the power this ship was exuding.

"Alright! Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a bumpy ride!" Yuri crowed with glee as she brought the ship forward at incredible speeds. Golden bolts of energy spouted off from their small guns, peppering the shield with distracting fire. The beams that were fired at them in return either missed or caused negligible damage. The main gun came up to full power as Kikuko took the Moko Takabisha stance ready to unleash her full power, golden lightning arcing off of the mech and being absorbed into the walls. Anything else the mad scientist had to say was drowned out by the synchronized hum from the plasma generators and the rumbling whine from the system straining to contain the ki. When at last the gun was fully charged, Yuri parked the craft in front of the Soja, hatches along the side of the ship opened, and golden energy gathered together in front of the ship. The ball of coalesced energy roared out and into the force field. Because of the repeated shots of plasma, the shield was weakened significantly, but was destroyed completely by the enormous expulsion of power. Over the com unit, Kagato could be heard cursing out the shoddy craftsmanship of the vessel as a good portion of it was demolished. The floating wreck made an ungainly turn, but before they could stop him, he engaged the warp system and took off for parts unknown.

"Damn, he got away!" Mihoshi was furious at their failure, silent tears leaking from her eyes, but she wasn't allowed to brood long when the ship suddenly shuddered.

"What was that?" Kei asked.

"It feels like the ship's trying to come apart!" Yuri shouted back. Toma's voice came over the unit.

"That's because it is falling apart! Apparently too much power was routed through the linkages and it shorted them out! You have to bail out!" his frantic voice cut across the line. The girls scrambled to evacuate and managed to all jam up at the door, except Kikuko, who was still in her mech. The girl heard the warning and took off through the hatch she entered. The redhead was worried when no one exited the ship before seeing three figures leave the craft as it fell apart, the links severing and dumping the lifeless ships to the ground. Her friends flew over to her with emergency jet packs. She was getting ready to say something when her mech began squealing from strain. Whatever was going to be said could wait until they were on the ground. The girls looked to their friend just seconds before her mech suddenly gave out and plummeted.

"Kikuko!" Mihoshi cried as she urged the little rocket pack to reach her friend before the redhead barked out over the com unit.

"Don't! I have a parachute!" she yelled as the unmistakable white plume erupted from the back and resolved itself into a parachute with a smiley face. The girl would have been embarrassed if she knew what her partner had put on her parachute.

Once everyone had reached the ground safely, the back hatch cracked open expelling pressure. The fit redhead climbed out of the mech, the skintight suit hugging her curves. If any men had been around they would have instantly needed a blood transfusion. Kei, Yuri, and Mihoshi clustered around the defunct mech.

"You okay?" the blonde asked.

"Just fine, but my mech is busted…" she sounded downhearted about it.

"Toma can fix it! He can write a program for anything!" Yuri enthused. Kei rolled her eyes, but even she had to admit that the guy had talent. When the young man in question arrived, the first thing he did was rush over to the purple haired vixen and frantically ask if she was okay. She assured him that she was and promptly hugged him for caring. It was a tender moment, but then Mihoshi asked if he could fix their ships. Kikuko wanted to smack her before she remembered that a martial artist must never hurt those weaker than themselves.

"Fix them? It shouldn't be too difficult to get them fixed. Perhaps even have them adapted so that they can combine again without shorting out the systems?" he suggested. It was easy to see how that would work, if they were still partners when this assignment was over. In the short time they had been together it had been a blast. Literally. Judging by the position of the sun, however, it looked as if it was getting close to evening. It was almost time to meet the Saotomes for dinner, which Toma brought to their attention.

"It is? Aw damn! C'mon guys!" Kikuko was getting ready to take off before Mihoshi brought her up short.

"Are you wearing that?" she indicated the bodysuit. The redhead shrugged.

"I'm not late yet and it's never a good idea to be late for dinner especially with my family." The girl took off across the rooftops at breakneck speed, leaving them in the dust.

"I can jump pretty well…but not that well." Yuri muttered ruefully as Toma called for transport back to the management office.

Sometime later-

The party had been a blast for everyone, even the owner of the amusement park was invited. As good as it felt to have her mom and dad there with her; it was a sore spot that everyone wanted to hear about them, but not her. Once again she was in their shadow as her friends either talked to them or talked to her about them. It was growing almost unbearable. Before she could say or do anything to ruin the party, she decided to take her issues outside. The party was being held in the management center so her only view when she exited was the blasted landscape from their interesting arrival. The night air was cool on her face. Her parents hadn't even batted an eye when she showed up in her pilot suit except to say it looked good on her. She growled as she once again had to suffer through the excitement that always accompanied her parents' exploits.

"Ranma and Birdy Saotome. Detectives First Class of the Galaxy Police Force." She muttered. It wasn't that she didn't love her family, but it seemed like she was in everyone else's shadow. Her older brother Hawk was a universal explorer and soldier of fortune who had assisted in saving the galaxy any number of times. It wouldn't have been so bad, but he did it naturally. He was always in the right place at the right time to save the day and get the credit. Even her little sister Ranko was renowned in the scientific field. She was said to be almost as good as Washu or the American girl Gina Diggers. Kikuko wanted to cry. She was the middle child and seemed to always be stuck in the middle of everyone else. The birthday girl vowed to not even shed a tear, but before long she was bawling her eyes out.

"Sweetheart? What's wrong?" her mother asked as she came out. She had seen her daughter leave and followed her, but she didn't like seeing her child cry. The elder Saotome caught her daughter when she flung herself into her mother's arms with a wail.

"It's not f-fair! I try and try, but I can't keep up…Hawk, Ranko, you, and Dad are all better than me! My friends all make such a fuss about you and it's like I'm not even in the room anymore." She snuggled in her mother's arms. Birdy sighed as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"You did something today with your friends that your father and I couldn't have done." She admitted. Kikuko looked up at her mother in shock.

"We did?" she asked incredulously.

"You faced off against Kagato and drove him off. Not many people can claim that you know." Birdy said, noticing how her daughter visibly cheered up. It was at that moment that Ranma came out to join them.

"How are my favorite ladies?" he asked cheerfully as he caught them both in a hug. The rest of the crew came out to see what was going on. The young redhead expected it to turn into another round of questions about her family, but to her surprise her mother repeated what she'd said before.

"I was telling our daughter about what her and her friends accomplished. It's not everyday that Kagato gets run out of town." Birdy said. Ranma nodded in agreement. Everyone blinked at that.

"Wait…we did something that not even you guys could do?" Kei asked in disbelief.

"You got that right." Ranma said. Yuri abruptly seized Kikuko in a big hug.

"And we couldn't have done it without her!" she said happily. The startled girl returned the hug with a smile. Her friends were congratulating her and themselves. Maybe in the long run, team victories were better than solo accomplishments. The happy moment was broken by the sound of footsteps. Everyone turned to see a diminutive redheaded girl with one blue eye and one green eye. The girl wore a strange square hat on her head and a dark green cloak. Under the cloak she wore a white button down with a red tie, a dark green sleeveless sweater over the shirt. Her black skirt barely reached mid thigh, white stockings encasing her legs. Gold buckles on her black shoes twinkled as she walked. Mihoshi groaned as another girl once again outdid her in the looks department.

"Ranko!" Kikuko crowed as she flew at her baby sister and scooped her up in a big hug. The littler girl barely crested five-foot one, but gave her sister a startlingly powerful hug.

"Kiku-chan!" her sister cried out happily. The sisters reunion was cut short by Toma as he rushed forward.

"Glad you could make it Saotome-san!" he gushed. The littler girl blinked as she took in the tall lanky man.

"Hey call me Ranko! Saotome-san makes me sound so old!" she burst into a fit of strange maniacal laughter that had everyone sweatdrop. Her two helper bots floated over. Tick was red and looked like a mini sphere with a clock face and Tock was blue and looked similar to Tick. For some reason, the Saotomes seemed ready to duck and cover.

"We parked the ship boss!" Tick chirped.

"Ready for duty!" Tock chirped.

"Good job guys! Take a break. So Toma, what did you want my help for?" Ranko asked. The two geniuses wandered off talking to each other rapidly. Yuri looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Kei asked her friend.

"What if she tries to take Toma?" her friend whimpered.

"Don't worry. She's more liable to hit on you than on him." Kikuko said in a not-so-reassuring way. Mihoshi squeaked and Kei chuckled nervously. Strangely enough, Yuri was relieved. It was decided that the party should end and everyone should get some sleep. The elder Saotomes told everyone to sleep well and apologized. They had to leave for a new assignment the next day. After the farewells, it was time for bed.

Several Hours Later-

Kikuko was awakened from a sound sleep by her sister's maniacal laughter ringing through the center. Mihoshi was already up and swearing like a pirate at being disturbed before she caught sight of her partner's shocked look and stopped.

"M-Mihoshi…?" she stammered.

"Uh I mean…Darn it!" she said cutely in her ditzy way. It was too early for the redhead to puzzle out what was going on with her partner, but she did have to investigate why her sister was laughing like that. The girls left the spare room they had been sleeping in and made their way to the equipment hangar. Kei and Yuri were already there. It looked like a pajama party, but the two hysterically laughing people who were already there didn't notice. The Lovely Angel and the GP cruiser were there being serviced while a canvas covered object was being tended to by Tick and Tock. Finally Ranko and Toma realized they had an audience.

"Good morning ladies!" Ranko crowed before dissolving into giggles.

"Morning everybody. H-hey Yuri." Toma said shyly. Yuri rushed over and gave him a hug. Another touching scene that was interrupted.

"Anyway…bet you're wondering what's going on, right?" Ranko asked. At the chorus of nods she smirked.

"The ships are fixed for starters so you can leave any time, but we have some things to talk to you about." She looked over to Toma who was making loving eyes at the girl in his arms. She shrugged.

"Never mind, I can tell you. I recovered the flight data from your fight with Kagato. That was quite a bit of hacking on Toma's part for sure. If it had been done wrong you all would've gone boom! Don't panic, it didn't happen so why worry? Well, the ships have been made more compatible. Only problem was finding a way to improve the linkage without burnout like the last time. The thing that had been holding you together it turns out was Kikuko's ARMS. ARMS stands for Assault Response Mech System. One of my personal triumphs, but it turns out it has the effect of not only enhancing sis's own power, but also regulating power surges. ARMS was regulating the flow of energy but eventually even the fail safe routers…failed." She grinned at the slightly stunned faces before realizing they hadn't followed a word of it. With a sigh, she decided to clarify.

"Without ARMS the two ships would have burnt out before the link couplings had even finished sealing. It wasn't the combination that failed, it was the weak link. ARMS. So, not only did I drastically improve your engine systems, weapons systems, and defense systems, but I also improved the linkage through ARMS. The original was completely fried so I had to make a new one." She gestured for her mechanical servants to unveil the mech. Kikuko gasped. It looked smaller. The basic design was of a Hard Suit from Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, great anime in the girl's opinion, but it was in her own color theme. She preferred red and blue. The chest and arms was red, the hips and thighs were cobalt blue while the knee guards and lower legs were red. The helmet was red with the black visor and two antennae.

"Th-that's…" Kikuko began, but Mihoshi finished.

"That's so cool!" she gushed. Kei had to admit it was impressive.

"Meet ARMS II. The latest in next generation combat mecha. This model enhances your innate and refined ki abilities while allowing you to focus your energy even better. With this one, you can also channel your energy into a blade of pure ki." She smiled at the stunned responses before adding. "Don't break this one anytime soon." Kikuko caught her slight sister in a rough hug.

"Happy birthday." The girl whispered as she was set back down. Toma was staring, not at Yuri, but at his laptop.

"Guys…we have a problem. Apparently we've been given a new assignment. We have to go to Earth." He said.

"Why?" Yuri asked. Toma's face looked grim.

"Kagato."

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Another day, another chapter. Tell me what you think please? I write to please…myself. Writing gives me a great deal of pleasure. Thank you for reading! Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash. Anyone want to guess about the game referenced here?

Author's Notes: Welcome to another fun-filled installment of Kikuko the Mighty! The action doesn't stop as the crew heads to Earth for the confrontation with Kagato where it will join with the Tenchi Muyo story, but with differences of course. How will things be different and how will they be the same? Read and find out!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 4

Lost in Space

Training Area of the Galaxy Police Cruiser-

Wielding the ARMS requires absolute concentration. The powers involved in the creation alone make even the stoutest scientist shudder for the power suit is made through ancient technology. They have been referred to as Ancient Relic Machines before the current incarnation: Assault Response Mech System. The idea of piloting one of these weapons is laughable unless you have a complete mastery of the mind and spirit. Kikuko was training with ARMS II to see how it was the same, and different, from the original. Her sister Ranko never explained how she learned about them or even how to make them and she wasn't foolhardy enough to ask. The training area was created inside of a pocket dimension therefore it had a huge amount of space. She took a few minutes to synchronize herself with the soul of the machine and readied herself. Pushing a few buttons resulted in target spheres being deployed.

"Level required." The computer asked.

"Level three, defense on, and assault on. Five pattern Alpha and five pattern Omega. The rest random assistance patterns." She said to the training computer as the target spheres instantly hummed to life. Level three was not that difficult and makes a good warm up, usually, but new equipment can make anything a challenge.

"Acknowledged." The computer replied and all hell broke loose. ARMS II was mysteriously sluggish as she dodged a complicated weaving laser pattern designed to cut off escape and drive her into heavy assault fire, which it did easily due to the lack of speed. The armor deflected the strongest of the fire easily, much to her shock, but that was quickly replaced by new confidence. Her aura flared out and was promptly being cycled into the ARMS. The next attack missed her by a mile as it turned out the synchronization required her aura to complete the fusion of spirit and machine. Power was certainly tempting, but she remembered that it was only a tool. Confidence in herself, confidence in her machine, and confidence in her sister. She had to admit, it was a lot of fun to use. Ranko smiled as she watched the tests.

"Your confidence makes you the perfect wielder of the ARMS. In ancient times you would have easily triumphed over the metal demons, but things are so different now…" her eyes turned to clear blue briefly before flickering back to her original eye colors.

The readings indicated a clear fifty percent increase in power as opposed to the old system and that was with the ARMS II limiter in place. The system held three limiters. The first provided a further twenty five percent boost and lasted an hour. The second yielded another twenty five percent and lasted thirty minutes. The last provided a one hundred percent boost but that only lasted for ten minutes total. Only downside to removing the limiters was a decrease in effective time. Add that to the increases granted by the fusion to the ships and that was another two hundred percent increase! The diminutive scientist cackled evilly and rubbed her hands together gleefully while her two helpers sweatdropped.

"Mom's crazy…" Tick whispered. Tock merely nodded in fear.

"What was that?" Ranko shrilled.

"Nothing!" the two yelled in unison before bolting with Ranko's mocking laughter behind them.

The cockpit of the GP cruiser-

Mihoshi was having a bad day. She had to be more competent than usual because today was her day to fly the ship. They would be reaching Earth in a couple hours and she had to be ready for anything. After all, if Kagato was there already then the situation could only get worse. Too bad they couldn't get help from the rest of the Galaxy Police since the Sol system was declared a protectorate. Only a small team was allowed and they had to be well versed in interstellar relations. Ranko was the only one versed in any form of relations so the matter was quickly overlooked. The blonde groaned as she anticipated the danger they would be facing. They would laugh about it later, but the sheer unreasoning terror before the fact never changed.

"We have the firepower and the skills so this should be easy." She repeated to herself for the hundredth time. The ship was vastly more responsive and cruising beside the Lovely Angel meant that if a space pirate attacked it would be two to one, but the Dirty Pair's reputation preceded them and kept the more foolhardy pirates away. The proximity alarm suddenly blared to life, startling the blonde from her reverie. She flipped the com unit.

"We have a problem! The scanners are picking up the Soja! He's here!" she cried into the unit.

"Relax Mihoshi! It's all right, we've been preparing for this. Lovely Angels are you ready to attack?" Kikuko asked the other team.

"Always ready for a fight!" Kei replied.

"Let's get this over with." Yuri said in a strangely quiet voice. Before she could be questioned, the first wave of cannons fired, forcing them to dodge. Pretty soon all was lost in the swirl of battle as the two ships weaved around the larger, more powerful ship, peppering it with force blasts from the new guns. Once again the barrier was a problem. The command to disengage the Lovely Angel was given and two ships emerged from one to fight. ARMS II was launched from the Galaxy Police cruiser, ready for action. A powerful booster pack was affixed to the mighty mech.

"Well if it isn't my favorite playmates…I have been desolate without you. Since you insist on following me across the galaxy, however, I must cut our association short. Drones attack!" he commanded as he taunted them across their com units. The sides of the Soja opened to release the drones. They were shaped like saucers with odd protrusions from the front that looked like three lances set together in a prong. There was no time for contemplation as they opened fire on the slightly larger aggressors.

"Look out!" Mihoshi cried as Yuri's craft was blindsided by a blast across her starboard. The girl screamed in surprise before a low growl echoed in the cockpit just seconds before she unleashed a barrage of force blasts on a cluster of drones, reducing them to melted slag. Kei was having a hard time as the drones attacked her in relentless waves, weakening her shield with kamikaze attacks. It was getting hard to steer the craft as the stabilizers were hit. Before the next wave could get her, however, Kikuko saved her with the ARMS II.

"Moko Takabisha!" she cried as she released a massive wave of golden confidence energy, tearing through the drones easily in an eruption of power. The arcing beam tore through all that were in her path until their shields came up, mysteriously deflecting the attack.

"I figured you might try that again, but it will avail you naught! My drones incorporate a new shield that can withstand your pathetic "ki" energy!" Kagato laughed maniacally as the tide of battle shifted.

"Kei! Toma!" Yuri cried out in panic as she saw her friends' ship buffeted in a sea of blaster waves. She tried to get to them only to be cut off by a horde of drones. This was not the time to give in to despair. The purple haired girl ground her teeth before unleashing her ship's new weapon. Hundreds of purple force blades hurtled out from the sides, shredding all that stood in her path as she plowed toward the beleaguered ship. From alongside her ship she could see the GP cruiser rushing to Kei's aid as well. Wait, it looked as if Kikuko was flying that way too! A wild notion sprang to mind as she remembered that the ships were fit for combination!

"Let's form up!" Kikuko called out over the com system. Kagato's thought was on what this form up could possibly be just seconds before it actually happened. A hail of force fire drove the enemy away just long enough for the ships to begin coming together. Kikuko flew into a rear hatch of Kei's nearly disabled vehicle as the GP cruiser opened a port for it to connect at the same time as Yuri's ship connected to the front. The resulting fusion craft began visibly repairing the damage already done, shimmering with golden light as it did so.

"Wow…ARMS is truly remarkable! It has extended Kikuko's own healing factor to the rest of the ship somehow…I must investigate further…" Ranko mused as the cockpit altered to the new state. Yuri was sitting in the middle of the bridge, hands grasping the controls for the ship while a combat computer attached to her ear and a tiny arm extended over her eye, projecting a display directly into her retina. Kei was sitting at the weapons control off to the right of her with Toma sitting at the helm in control of diagnostic and Ranko monitoring the shield display and Mihoshi was at the proximity display. When Kikuko was located, ARMS II was hovering in a strange green stasis fluid with cables connecting the ship to it and vice versa located just behind the pilot chair. New weapons came on-line as the fusion completed.

"Alright! No more screwin' around!" Yuri ground out as she quickly toggled the battle display on before firing off the command to activate the all around weapon. A golden ring erupted from around the ship as the force field generator abruptly discharged energy to clear the drones from around the ship. Kei placed a similar device on her ear and brought the weapons on-line and prepared to battle.

"We have several drones appearing towards the port side!" Ranko announced.

"Then they've got some pain comin'!" Kei grinned as she grabbed hold of two control sticks with triggers and various buttons rigged into it for easier control. Her retina display told her what weapon would work best as she quickly brought two of the new weapons around to fire. Two arms exploded out from the sides of the ship wielding what looked like oversized buster guns.

"Hybrid Cannons fire!" she cried as she swung the lethal bursts of energy through the approaching enemies as Yuri brought them towards the Soja at full speed.

"All conditions green. Transferring power to maneuverability jets." Toma announced as the rockets kicked in. The Soja was firing everything it had at them but couldn't stop the inevitable advance of the mighty ship.

Kagato was in a panic as he saw all his plans coming to naught and unleashed his last line of defense in the form of a massive robot. The head was wedge shaped and dark green, golden eyes peered out from under the protruding part of the wedge. The torso was heavily armored, protruding to a point, guns mounted on the massive shoulder guards. The arms ended in massive claws and the legs ended in massive feet with a plasma blue glow propelling it in conjunction with the massive backpack.

"This could be trouble…" Mihoshi muttered as the robot rushed in only to be repelled by the mighty cannon fire. The robot boasted incredible maneuverability as it seemingly danced around their ship releasing a veritable storm of laser blasts upon their shields.

"We can't catch him!" Yuri growled in frustration. The purple haired girl hated admitting there was something that could outmaneuver her.

"Yes we can. Kikuko!" Ranko called.

"**YES**" the voice came from everywhere at once. The startled looks on everyone's faces was priceless.

"Release the next form of ARMS!" she cried.

"**ROGER**" was all she said as the bridge began to change again. Reinforced walls slammed down around them, their stations drawing together before a protective barrier dropped down around them. The emergency lights replaced the lights.

"…What's going on…?" was all the blonde girl could ask as the ship rumbled.

Outside the Ship-

The robot's AI was relishing this relatively easy win. His master had made him to be the greatest combat machine in existence and this was further proof of that. The bot gloated over the suddenly inert ship before it began to notice something. The fortified arms that held the guns suddenly snapped back to life. The front of the ship disconnected before flipping over and connecting to the bottom of the GP cruiser portion. The back of the ship snapped loose before splitting in half, huge armored protrusions came out from the back to connect once again to the back of the ship. As the ship rotated up, the robot realized it was watching the other ship transform. As the headless machine faced him, a red and black head popped out from between the shoulders. The eyes flared to life, glowing ruby red.

"**Ready to fight?**" Kikuko, as ARMS, asked. Her opponent would have run away if that was in the programming, but it wasn't so it did the only thing it could. It attacked. ARMS would have felt bad about what was about to happen if it hadn't already attacked her friends. The vastly empowered martial artist mech waited for the other machine to charge. She didn't have to wait long as it made a hyper speed lunge for her. A dodge to the side and a vicious kick was sent crashing into his back, but apparently it was more durable than she thought. The robot spun around, swinging its fist wide in a surprisingly fast arc before crashing into her robotic head sending her senses reeling slightly. She shook the dizziness away just in time to avoid the next swing that would have taken her head completely off with a simple duck before firing off a punch into the reinforced "stomach", crushing the metal slightly before an axe-handle crashed into her back and a simple knee to the crotch pushed her away.

Inside-

"Aw shit this ain't good!" Kei complained as they were hurtled around.

"According to the reports, each hit is depleting our energy by almost fifteen percent. So far we've lost a whole forty-five percent power from the fusion." Toma informed them.

"Kikuko! Use your techniques!" Ranko shouted. Mihoshi hoped she would do something soon. It was much too early in life in die. Yuri clenched the unresponsive controls.

"You can do it!" she cried out, sending her support. At that, a strange golden light traveled down her arms and into the controls. She gasped, but realized what was happening.

"Everyone! Lend your support to Kikuko! Focus on ARMS II!" she instructed. They didn't question. Every little bit could help. Mustering their concentration they all began sending their power to the redheaded girl who was trying to save them. The golden radiance was nearly blinding.

"Shields are returning to full power!" Ranko reported.

"Weapons as well…!" Kei was amazed. Their combined might was giving their friend the strength she needed to win. A new technique appeared on the screen. The girl wondered what it did and decided to see what it could do. She tapped the display, letting the girl know what technique to try.

"Please Kiku-chan…" Mihoshi prayed silently as the gold light gradually died down, going into the ARMS II unit. It stirred as if something monstrous was awakening. Time to fight.

Outside-

ARMS growled in fury as she was once again thrown across space. Her opponent was the only thing that stood between her and her target. Her mechanical body was tiring rapidly and she knew that they would come undone soon. The robot quickly whipped out a beam sword and charged much faster than before. This was it. She was going to lose and there was nothing that could be done but wait. Suddenly, gold light sprang out from her body, raising the temperature around her several thousand degrees. Her own aura forming a mini sun. She brought her hands together in front of her as the corona of power forming a swirling circle of energy behind her. The robot was going to run right into whatever the attack was. It had the latest in shield technology that deflected ki attacks so this would be easily blocked.

"**This one's for you! DIE! Arc Impulse!**" ARMS called out as a massive bolt of golden energy, easily three times bigger than the mech firing it, and engulfing the attacking robot in a burst of radiance. The hapless machine was disintegrated instantly from the combination of ki and force energy, leaving nothing to stand between the powerful blast and the Soja. It looked like it would be a perfect shot until the attack passed through the ship as if it wasn't even there!

"Not bad at all little girls…but you have a long way to go before you beat me!" Kagato laughed evilly as the Soja uncloaked behind them. Oldest trick in the book and they had fallen for it twice, which the scientist did not hesitate to rub in their faces.

"I cannot believe that you fell for that twice! Ahahahaha! It is too funny that my would be captors could be fooled so easily!" he laughed again, but by this time ARMS had spun around to face the enemy with her hands brought together. Just as she attempted to unleash her family's trademark attack.

"**Moko Takabisha!**" she shouted as the gathered ball of ki appeared in her hand, but something was wrong. It flickered strangely, but the attack was sent at Kagato anyway. The ball of emotion chi made it to the shield before waning drastically. She tried to release her first limiter, but her ki levels were too low and the system was designed to preserve the wielder's life. The ball struck and winked out of existence. It was clear that the mighty machine was out of juice. She could feel her friends' fear as it became clear that they were going to die.

"Mwahahahahaha! This is simply too rich! You have been both my greatest opponents and my greatest pain! Now you shall die!" he gloated as the ship's weapon system came to life. The powerful forward gun emerged from the ship, preparing to fire a blast of charged ions. Essentially it was a lightning cannon. Kikuko saw the blast rocketing for her friends and did the only thing she could think of.

"**Forgive me.**" She said mournfully. They wondered what she was talking about until they felt the couplings coming undone a few moments later, forcing the two ships back into their original forms just as the cannon fired. Ranko freaked because she knew they stood a better chance combined than separate until she say her sister barrel out into space. Her aura was emitting a strong white color that signified pure ki. She had never seen anything like it. What could make her aura like that? The blast struck the pitifully small figure, vaporizing her instantly.

"Kikuko!" she wailed in sudden grief as she saw her sister destroyed. She was dimly aware of the babble of voices around her, expressing their grief and disbelief as well. The mystery that remained, however, was why the lightning never struck. Toma wiped his eyes before suddenly grasping the console in disbelief.

"I don't believe it!" his suddenly happy voice earned him a few glares.

"What?" his girlfriend snapped.

"Somehow the lightning combined with her ki and created a temporal rift. She's alive, but she's not here." He told them a little regretfully, but the mood improved greatly.

"Wait…where's Kagato?" Kei asked. It was kind of weird.

"…and where's Mihoshi?" Yuri asked as well. The four stared at each other in dawning horror. The two were trapped God knows where with a madman.

"Aw hell…" Ranko muttered.

Elsewhere-

The night was dark and the light from the moon overhead just didn't seem to reach the ground. One other object was in the sky besides the lady moon and that was a young pigtailed boy flying in for a landing. He noticed that his speed and trajectory were such that if he didn't correct that he would be flattened like a pancake. Ranma noticed the flagpole sticking out from the building and smiled ruefully. It was the same one he had grabbed hold of a year ago just before meeting Birdy, the love of his life. It was also her fault he was flying. She could be so touchy sometimes about the stupidest of things. So he said she looked like she had a few more pounds… Well, first things first. He grabbed onto the flagpole and began to spin, gathering speed before flipping off and heading for the nearly finished building. A final twist and kick brought him to rest safely on the recently finished floor.

"Whew! Ten point landing!" he said before laughing. He would have kept on laughing, but a crash resounded from outside, drawing him to the window to investigate. There was a figure lying on the ground in a crater. What really drew his attention was the way the ground around the impact point was glowing visibly with heat. The figure wasn't moving, but they might still be alive. With another leap and a flip he was on the ground, rushing towards the downed person. When he got there the sight before him was a rather bizarre one. It looked like a metal person lying on the ground resembling a hard suit from Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, he thought Priss was kind of hot, but that didn't matter right now. The person on the ground wasn't even moving, but a hiss of air made him leap back to avoid the decompressed air.

"What the hell's going on?" he muttered as he checked the crater again. Ask him a year ago what he would say to seeing an obviously alien suit of armor lying in a crater and he would have laughed, but after helping his girlfriend fight off any number of alien attacks, he would not even bat an eye. If the being was friendly, great, but if it wasn't…He quickly suppressed that line of thought because going in thinking there would be battle wasn't a good idea. Inside the crater it appeared that the booster pack affixed to the back of the armor had lifted up and the back had cracked open. Its power was obviously depleted so it couldn't complete the release procedure. If it wasn't opened, the being inside might suffocate. He leaped into the crater and seized hold of the still hot metal and pulled it open. A shock of red hair met his eyes and he deduced she was either human or an Alterrian like Birdy. Her aura felt so familiar, but he couldn't place it for the life of him. With some added effort, he pried the armor open more before he could pull her loose. It was obvious that the person was a she because he accidentally latched onto something he shouldn't have, but thankfully she was unconscious. A strange urge came over him to cradle her in his arms and he found himself staring at her face. It was a face so familiar that he had to get another look to be certain. She looked like Birdy, but her aura felt similar to his own.

"So who are you…?" he asked no one in particular as he stood up, holding the girl close. A flashing light from her wrist caught his attention and he pushed the flashing button he found there. A bright flash and the armor was gone. She stirred slightly in his arms before wrapping her arms around his neck like a child does their parent. The pigtailed boy smiled down at her before he took off across the rooftops with his precious burden held close.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Yes! Another chapter completed! Next chapter introduces the NWC in all their glory. If you're wondering what's going to happen I'll tell you this. The next chapter will focus on Kikuko's trials in Nerima. Each chapter will focus on a different part of the scattered team. See ya next time! Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash.

Author's Notes: Yet another chapter of Kikuko the Mighty! Where do I find the time to write? Since even I don't know let's just forget and enjoy the story. As always, remember to tip your waitress and enjoy the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 5

The sunlight filtered in through the window, casting a pool of light and warmth across the room. Insistent rays of sunshine poked at the sleeping girl's eyelids. With a sigh of sleepy protestation she reluctantly opened her eyes. She squirmed into the bed to get comfortable again, but that was ruined. The redhead grumbled in frustration as she sat up sleepily, her bleary eyes scanning the room.

"This isn't my bedroom." She thought sleepily. Kikuko Saotome, Heir to the Anything Goes Martial Arts, was confused. Her dad had taught her to think on her feet so she got up. Perhaps she was taking it too literally, but it also showed her that she was dressed, but in a pair of pajamas with Sailor Moon on them. Her clothes were nowhere to be found; still someone had left her wallet and the other things from her pockets on the nightstand. Since her sleepwear didn't have pockets she simply put everything into subspace. She crept into the hallway and slowly made her way downstairs, feet silent in the fuzzy sleepers she found in the closet. As she got closer to the kitchen she heard two voices she faintly recognized.

"Where's Ranma this morning, Mother?" the one voice asked.

"He's off to work. He said that you should keep an eye on our guest. The poor boy doesn't understand how she got the name Saotome." The other voice said. As she went to peek her head around the corner, a hand dropped onto her shoulder from out of nowhere. The girl squealed in shock before executing a rapid-fire series of punches on the person behind her. She finally took notice of the fat martial artist who crept up on her. It looked like Grandpa Genma, but younger.

"What's going on?" an auburn-haired woman asked as she rounded the corner.

"Stay back Mother!" a red-haired girl said as she leapt between the two. Kikuko had a sinking feeling as she realized the more menacing girl looked just like her. Dad always said she looked like her mother and now she understood why.

"H-hey…Sorry 'bout this…" she stammered, but impulsiveness seems to run in the family. The police officer girl barreled at her opponent so fast that the air seemed to warp around her just before a snap kick sent her flying out into the backyard. In a thrice, she was back on her feet in a ready stance. The displaced redhead was automatically ready to defend herself, but a part of her didn't want to hurt her mom. Apparently her mom had no such qualms.

"The name's Birdy and harming people under this roof is forbidden." She stood in a side stance with her fists at her hips and her elbows bent slightly. The wind blew through her hair and Kikuko had an idea of what criminals felt when they saw her mom ready to square off.

"We got off on the wrong foot…" perhaps diplomacy would work. When the air warped around Birdy from her furious charge, she knew it wouldn't. A rapid series of forearm blocks kept the Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken from pulverizing her, but the return Dragon's Claw blow dealt to the solar plexus sent the stunned policewoman reeling. 'If fighting makes her feel better…' the time traveling martial artist thought before executing a perfect diagonal spear kick. Birdy warped away in time to avoid the drop, but the sudden roundhouse caught her in the side of her head and sent her spinning to the ground.

"W-well…you're something else…" the girl panted as she sized up her older looking opponent. Birdy leapt back to her feet, thrusting her arms out and crying "Moko Takabisha!" The ball of blue confidence ki flew with lightning speed for the other girl, hammering her flat into the ground. Kikuko could definitely understand why criminals avoided fighting back, but this was just something she couldn't let go. Mom had always been her idol and the reason she practiced the martial arts. Her mother was unbelievably graceful, but could hit like a tsunami. She got back to her feet with tears in her eyes. A swirling vortex of black and purple chi swirled around her. Birdy seemed taken aback by the strange sensations radiating from her. It wasn't the Shishi Hokodan that was for certain.

"This…ends…now…" the girl grated out "Sorry 'bout this…Dark Star Evolution!" she suddenly slashed her arms down, fingers splayed out with the malevolent chi gathering around her hands before rocketing out like a straight beam. With horror she suddenly realized the attack was too powerful for her mother's current level of ki. She tried to stem the lethal tide, but the attack got away from her. Just as the attack reached Birdy a blue blur shot between the two and slapped the attack away as if it were nothing.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Ranma asked in a deadly voice. Kikuko almost wet herself before breaking down in tears. The vengeful boy stared in shock as the girl bowed so low her forehead was touching the ground sobbing out "Gomen nasai" repeatedly. He wasn't feeling too forgiving just then. The pigtailed police officer was returning from a busy morning of work to find the two redheads duking it out and then noticed the blast of powerful anger ki rocketing for Birdy. The girl was obviously sorry, but what bothered him was what could have set her off?

"Ranma…?" Birdy asked as she tentatively laid a hand on his still glowing shoulder.

"What happened here?" he asked quietly.

"Father caught her sneaking around and went to question her, but when he grabbed her she flung him outside. I was trying to protect the house." Birdy said, but realized even as she said it that the one at fault was her. The girl on the ground would have cut a comedic picture if she weren't so obviously sorry. Ranma gave her a look before going over to the girl.

"I'm Ranma. Sorry 'bout this." He said with a smile. Kikuko picked her head up.

"Kikuko." She replied. The pigtailed youth took her hand and helped her stand up, but a small stumble made her fall against him. Birdy instantly snarled, but a voice broke the awkward moment.

"Nihao airen!" Shampoo called out cheerfully as she sailed over the backyard of the house. It was a surprise when she didn't even stop to talk, but apparently she was in the mood for throwing water balloons. She had lobbed several at him. He was soaking wet and he felt something was vaguely wrong. When he went to look at the girl who fell into him, he found a man instead.

"Gah!" he shouted intelligently as he stared at the black haired young man who had involuntarily hugged him. He seemed slight of build as if made for speed.

"What?" the young man asked before blinking in confusion. He cleared his throat a few times before staring in shock. Birdy was pretty sure the man was a woman and braced herself for the fireworks.

"You have a curse?" Ranma asked.

"I didn't before now! That bitch!" the boy was suddenly incensed. Without thinking he stepped back and manifested his ARMS II. The armor had reconfigured for Kikuko's different form.

"Wait!" the policewoman cried but her pleas fell on deaf ears as she watched the girl-turned-boy hurtle into the sky. Ranma groaned.

"I just got back… Ah hell!" he griped as he took off after her. With a shrug, Birdy leapt after him. Anyone watching this would shrug and say.

"Life's like that in Nerima."

Near the Nekohanten-

Shampoo was thrilled with her brilliant plan. The nannichuan that the guide delivered was exactly what she needed to get that redheaded girl who stole her man. It had actually been shipped for Mousse because Cologne was going to remove his curse, but let the blind fool suffer longer. Her steps were halted when she got a good look at who was in front of her. Elder Cologne was tapping her foot with a grim look of determination. The purple-haired girl knew she was in trouble, but it was worth it.

"Shampoo. Where did Mousse's nannichuan go?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I removed obstacle." Shampoo replied with a smug smile. It didn't hurt to tell the truth, besides it was less painful than lying to the diminutive old woman.

"I thought we agreed that it was a better idea to keep him as an ally, but this most certainly alienated him and his chosen. They could have been formidable allies and you have just made them insurmountable foes! Where is your head?" the aging matriarch exploded in sheer rage and fear until a terrible sound reached her ears. It sounded like a cry of rage fit to tear the heavens asunder. Gold lightning arced around the two just seconds before it all went to hell.

"What this?" Shampoo asked in fear as a figure clad in menacing armor descended slowly from the sky.

"The answer for your actions…" her great grandmother told her in awe and horror.

"**You**." Was all the figure said in a terrible voice. The hand pointed at Shampoo's chest with a ball of pure life force gathering in her palm. Gold tinged with crimson. Just before the shot could be fired a chain wrapped around the being's wrist and jerked the hand skyward, firing the shot wildly. The armored figure snarled before yanking the chain downward violently, since it was ki enhanced the chain didn't snap, but it did whip the myopic boy out from behind and into the ground.

"Mousse stupid male! Shampoo fight!" the Chinese girl snarled before rushing the attacker with her bonborri. It was extremely one-sided as the bonborri whipped about in a deft series of strikes with the armor clad figure blocking and guarding the whole time waiting for an opening. The moment that Shampoo's attack faltered was when the strange figure blurred into action by executing a perfect back-flip kick to her jaw, sending her up in the air, before a dizzying series of punches and kicks kept her suspended in mid-air.

"**How do you like that?**" the person asked casually before unleashing a sudden spin kick to her abdomen, flinging her beside her great grandmother. Cologne didn't even try to fight which should have told the girl something. The vengeful figure walked over, even with the added weight he moved with a fluid grace that made it seem as if his feet didn't even touch the ground. The old woman hadn't lived as long as she had by picking fights with people who outclassed her that bad. The figure seemed to scan over the old woman, but didn't find what he was looking for.

"Birdy?" Cologne asked. The person simply shook his head. Ranma and Birdy making it to the scene in full combat regalia interrupted any further conversation. Practiced eyes swept the battlefield for serious casualties, but all they found was a slammed Mousse and a pummeled Shampoo. They looked much worse than they actually were.

"Okay…Calm down…Remove the power armor…" Ranma instructed calmly even though he was visibly tensed for battle. His girlfriend didn't seem too much better. They were both ready for the psychotic episode that they knew would come, but they weren't prepared for what happened next. The person complied. The armor retracted into the bracelet revealing Kikuko's male form. Cologne gaped in astonishment. The person looked just like Ranma!

"What is this?" she asked in wonderment. The Saotomes looked at each other, present and future before deciding it was best if they explained inside.

Inside-

The closed sign was hung in the window as four people sat around a table in the backroom. It was a gathering to give information and get answers. Shampoo and Mousse were excluded due to recovering from their injuries (also Cologne was slightly put out with them). Hot water had been applied and Kikuko was restored to her normal gender, much to everyone's relief. Her resemblance to Ranma was uncanny.

"So my granddaughter mistook you for Birdy. Easy to do I suppose even if that doesn't excuse what she did. I am truly sorry, but even if we were to give you drowned girl water…"

"…The curses would just fuse. Thanks, but I'd rather be half a woman than half a freak." Kikuko said bitterly. There was nothing to say to that statement so they pressed on.

"Who are you?" Birdy asked. Simple enough question. Yeah right.

"I am Officer Kikuko Saotome of the Galaxy Police and apparently part-time boy now." She tried to make it sound humorous, but failed. The bitter twist to her lips couldn't be considered a smile.

"Yeah, we read your ID card and badge, but how are you a Saotome?" Ranma asked. This was the big question. The police officer in her wanted to hold tight to that information while the child in her wanted to tell her mother and father everything. It didn't help she wanted her mother to hold her. Finally the child won out.

"…I fell through a temporal rift while fighting Kagato and came back from the future. I'm your daughter." She lowered her head, afraid of what she would see. Her mother was absolutely amazed. 'This is our child? She's so beautiful and talented! Oh the poor dear is so scared of how we'll react…' she thought as maternal instincts kicked in and she pulled the girl into a hug. Kikuko stiffened briefly before sagging into her mother's arms, clutching her as if she were a rock in a storm and cried. The displaced child was so relieved. Ranma moved his chair near the future girl's and added his own arms to the hug. His thoughts were along the same lines as Birdy's. 'Our daughter…I must have done something right. This girl doesn't have any of my problems and isn't afraid to cry. No one told her it wasn't something a martial artist should do. No one told her that girl's were weaker. Just looking at her…' he smiled as his spirits lifted. He was so scared he would become his father and here was the proof of how wrong he was.

"This is truly a touching scene, but who is this Kagato?" Cologne asked. The Saotomes broke apart a little to give the sandwiched girl some breathing room.

"He's a mad scientist and a space pirate who is wanted across the galaxy for unspeakably heinous crimes committed in the name of science. He once killed an entire space colony just because he wanted to test a new strain of pneumonia. My partner Mihoshi and I had joined up with the Lovely Angels, a team from the 3WA, to investigate a planetary crisis on a vacation world where we ran into him. We managed to drive him off but found out he was heading to Earth. Ranko upgraded our ships to fight him better and…" she was interrupted by Ranma.

"Ranko?" he asked quizzically. The girl groaned at the slip, but she couldn't lie to her parents.

"My little sister. The genius inventor in the family." She replied. The same thought went through her parents' minds 'Genius inventor?'.

"So because of this Kagato person you were thrown through time. The Nanban Mirror could help, but that has been destroyed." Cologne mused. Kikuko's bracelet monitor suddenly began beeping. Everyone peered at the displaced girl as she quickly tapped a few keys.

"What the hell? It says that Mihoshi is here! No…not here…but somewhere close!" she tried to get an exact lock, but failed. The girl set her bracelet to locate the ditzy blonde, but knew that it would be at least a couple days before the damn thing got a lock. She smiled sheepishly at the people watching her.

"Did it say where she is?" Birdy asked. Kikuko shook her head no and sighed. What she wouldn't give to see her blonde friend again. They weren't even apart a day and already she felt a hole where she should be. As well as with Kei, Yuri, Toma, and of course her sister Ranko. At her crestfallen look, Ranma came up with an idea that everyone would like.

"Hey, let's get some ice cream. My treat." He said. Every female in the room looked at him, even Cologne, and it was decided they would tend to that immediately. After all, what could possibly go wrong with a trip to the ice cream shop?

Streets of Nerima-

The Eternal Lost Boy, Ryoga Hibiki, was ecstatic. He had finally saved up enough money for a GPS and it worked even better than he had been told. All he had to do was input the addresses for his friends, and Kasumi (sigh), and he could find his way to them easily. When he caught sight of the ice cream shop he decided to go in. Especially when he saw that Ranma and Birdy were there. They seemed to be laughing and eating ice cream with Cologne and a girl that could have been Birdy's clone. This bore investigating, he decided, as he entered the building and made his way over to them.

"Hey guys." He said with a smile. Gone were the days of shouting stupid slogans and attacking senselessly. Now he was reunited with his old friend. The Lost Boy's appearance had changed since they last saw him. His clothing consisted of highly durable waterproof clothing. A black jean jacket, buttoned shut, and black jeans mysteriously seemed to go well with his normal bandana. It looked fashionable, but it could withstand a collision with a truck and resistant to flames.

"Hey Ryoga. C'mon and sit down!" Ranma waved his old pal into the seat next to the strange redhead. He couldn't wait to tell his friend the great news. Birdy seemed about to burst at the seams as well.

"Hello Ryoga." The elderly matriarch greeted him as she ate an ice cream confection as big as she is. The greetings went around the table with Birdy giving him a big hug which didn't make him as self-conscious as he used to feel. After he had given his order they sat about chewing the fat. Nothing special, just a few old friends having a good time. Just thinking about how things were now as opposed to back then it made the group glad. Kikuko was the odd girl out and felt like she was intruding until Ryoga called attention to her.

"Who's this?" tact still wasn't his strong suit, but he had a good point. They had unintentionally assumed he knew who she was. She felt that normal. When Kikuko told him who she was he couldn't help but grin. If they believed her who was he to question it? Ryoga suddenly remembered something.

"I got somethin' to show ya." He smirked and began rummaging around in his backpack. He didn't notice something pop out of his bag and land with a soft splat on the top of Cologne's dessert. It looked like a strange mushroom. What he pulled out looked like a small black box that when he opened it revealed a simple diamond ring. Everyone made the appropriate noises but everyone laughed when Ranma said.

"She's my girl and ya can't have her." The good humor and congratulations went on for some time until a startled "Mmph!" made them look towards Colonge. She looked humorous with her face twisted up but the hilarity stopped when she began visibly growing, her wrinkled face smoothing out and teeth sprouting in her head. The change took a few moments but the effects would last for a long time to come. When she stopped, she looked to be about thirteen with lavender hair, her eyes that had dimmed with age were once again bright and turned out to be emerald green. She was a very pretty child, but the robe that fit her older self was much shorter on her youthened body. Not even a pin dared to drop in the silence that followed. Someone coughed and the spell was broken. The elder of the Chinese Amazons stared at her younger form and began to shake. It proceeded to become a tremble and a shake that had the startled people ready to hit the deck, but all that happened was that she let out a whoop and finished her ice cream in a thrice.

"Woohoo! Youth is wasted on the young!" she crowed as she began thinking about everything she could do now until she stopped. They were still staring.

"What? Can't I be happy?" she demanded, but somehow Ryoga misinterpreted it.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know I had one of those! Don't be mad at me!" he pleaded before Kikuko patted his hand.

"She's not upset Uncle Ryoga. If she was than she would be unleashing three thousand years of Amazon history on us." She reassured him.

"She's not upset, but Shampoo might be. Not to mention that now we need to buy her clothes." At the mention of shopping all the girls smiled except Kikuko who looked vaguely terrified. It was a look shared by Ryoga and Ranma.

"I haven't seen Kasumi is a long time…I gotta go!" he high-tailed it out of there with Ranma close on his heels.

"I better make sure he doesn't get lost!" he shouted back. When the boys had left one problem remained.

"She's not wearing any pants." Kikuko pointed out. The other girls sweatdropped.

The Saotome House-

Birdy bounced through the door as if she were high as a kite. It was a good day to go shopping and now she was going to help Mother in the kitchen with dinner. Behind her came Cologne who was dressed in a black sweater and a plaid skirt with black stockings and black shoes. A slim strapped purse crossed her chest and she was just as cheerful as the girl before her. So many people complimented Birdy on her adorable little sister that her head was in the clouds. The last one in was also the most exhausted and disgruntled being on the planet. It was vaguely recognizable as human under the sheer piles of boxes and bags dangling from her arms. Kikuko was thinking about how unfair it was. Her mother insisted she get several dresses even though she was a strict jeans and tee shirt person. If anything it would keep Mihoshi from pestering her to buy a dress. Her little sister didn't understand why she hated to shop but her older brother understood perfectly.

"Kikuko! Cologne! Come quick!" Birdy's voice sounded worried. The girls ran into the kitchen only to find a scene of destruction. It looked as if someone had taken the entire NWC and unleashed them in one room. The policewoman was kneeling on the ground cradling something. As they got closer they could see it was the family katana. She was crying over the loyal blade that bore signs of battle. It was unclear from the evidence if Nodoka was alright or if she was injured but apparently she was thinking the worst. Something about this scene jarred the displaced girl. The level of destruction and the missing woman were strange. This looked like a frenzy but there was no body to back it up. Cologne caught her eye and nodded, her face impassive.

"Mom. Call dad and Ryoga, get them over here. See if they can find anything." Kikuko made the suggestion sound like a command. It put the starch back in her spine and she visibly straightened. It was supposed to get her mind off of what could be and it would also pin her father down so that he couldn't charge about and disrupt the investigation. Whether she liked it or not, she was the only Saotome thinking rationally.

"You don't trust me." Birdy said without turning.

"It's not just you, but dad as well. Even in my time he never fully learned to keep his emotions under control. C'mon Cologne." The time-traveling redhead said and turned to leave.

"Wait." The girl turned back to her mother and found the family katana held out to her with one hand gripping the hilt and the other hand gripping the end of the sheathe. Kikuko gripped the middle.

"Take care of yourself and this blade. I-I don't really have the authority to give this to you but…something tells me it should be with you." Her mother said as she released the weapon. The recipient of the weapon nearly choked on emotion but held her composure before engaging her combat suit and gripping the sheathe in her left hand. During all this Cologne watched Kikuko carefully and followed her out without a word. Once outside she spoke.

"You seemed surprised to see the family honor blade." She remarked. The redhead beside her turned to look at her.

"It disappeared before any of us were born. I was kind of surprised to see it, but I think I know what happened to it." She smiled briefly before leaping for the rooftops.

"…Things are always more interesting around a Saotome…" Cologne quipped before vaulting after her.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: This will be longer than I expected, but that's okay. This story has no clear conclusion as of yet. Next chapter will bring the conclusion to the Kikuko side. Ja ne!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Tenchi Muyo, Dirty Pair Flash, or Birdy the Mighty

Author's Notes: Chapter six is here and boy will this be a doozy! I know I said it would be one chapter per character but I discovered I had more to write than I thought. Without further ado, let's get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 6

Rooftops of Nerima-

Kikuko was relieved when her scanner was able to detect her grandmother. In her time it was designed to pick up people in general or specific family members. Even Ryoga was programmed into it. Her combat suit offered ease of movement in the form of a skintight red bodysuit with armor pieces molded to her chest, shoulders, hips, shins and forearms. It was designed to withstand heavy impact and even deflect slashes, but that part was never tested. She sincerely hoped it didn't come to that. Cologne was following after her at speeds that would rival a ninja with a tanto knife gripped in each fist with the blades pointing behind her. According to her scans it said that the kidnapped woman was at Furinkan. The jaunt from Juban to Nerima took at least ten minutes. She could have flown with her ARMS but it would have been noticeable. As they approached the high school, pistol fire erupted from around them. The young matriarch seemed to leap into the air and vanish while the redheaded girl executed a series of rapid sideways flips, shards of shattered concrete flying everywhere.

"Come on out Birdy and your boyfriend's mother will be unharmed!" a male voice called out. The girl was hiding behind a chimney with a perplexed look on her face. Whoever this guy was he had a grudge against her mom, but she couldn't remember hearing anything about this guy.

"Who are you?" Kikuko called back.

"You don't remember your old love, eh? Did that pathetic human make you forget me? And how did you get that hideous red hair?" he was either genuinely curious or trying to piss her off, either way he was succeeding in raising her ire.

"Release the innocent! You got what you wanted!" Cologne called out from the left, but the redhead was fairly certain she wasn't where her voice originated from.

"…Release her? But we're having so much fun already! If you really don't remember me I suppose I better refresh your memory…" he declared ominously as he stepped out in the open. His hair was the same white as her mother's old hair with green and black streaks. His eyes were flat and vicious, filled with an unholy amusement. With a snap, two robots appeared bearing Nodoka between them. The state of her grandmother made her snarl in fury, anger burned in her aura. Her grandmother was bound with her arms stretched out painfully, the same done to her legs, putting her in a tight spread eagle position. Her clothes were a wreck and soaked with blood, a gash in her face oozing blood. She could feel Cologne's aura leap up and triple in intensity. Her younger body was able to utilize much more chi than before. The man smirked at his handiwork, oblivious to the danger mounting around him.

"The name's Garzett, Mora Garzett. Come out Birdy and I'll release the woman." He said with the air of a man holding all the cards. With a growl, Kikuko stood up and walked out into the open. The sheath weaving back and forth behind her, her bangs screening her eyes. If he was aware of the trouble he did a good job at hiding it.

"You got me." She was getting ready to drop the sword when he laughed.

"Don't throw it away dear! That ancient relic can't save you anyway. Oh and tell the child to come out." He demanded. The cruel humor in his voice was making her flesh crawl.

"C'mon out Cologne." Kikuko said. The lavender haired girl came out into the open, knives still held in her fists with needles dangling from between her fingers. He didn't even demand that she drop her needles.

"Cologne? What an idiotic name! Still…Get it out of your system. Attack me with everything you have and then submit to my power." Garzett laughed as the two girls got ready to fight. Their sole concentration seemed to be on him. The needles flew with lethal accuracy for the man's head, but a field came up around him and melted the slender weapons into slag. He was about to taunt her when he heard a crashing sound from beside him and saw his robots fall to pieces.

"You are such a bad boy…I guess we gotta punish you." Kikuko said mockingly as she set her grandmother down away from the battle. She hit the police beacon as she straightened up, her hand hovering over the sword as she flared her aura into the visible spectrum. Garzett seemed unconcerned but inwardly he was seething.

'How did she get so fast?' he thought furiously just as a blast of concentrated chi slammed into his field from behind, warping the barrier. He had forgotten that there was someone behind him and after that display he realized that ignoring them could be foolish, if not fatal. Garzett summoned more robots to keep them busy. The ones he summoned looked like ovals with big red eyes and mechanical tentacles with pincers. He had to get Birdy to recognize him at any cost and if it took something heinous he would do it. With that thought in mind he spotted Nodoka and a dark idea took shape.

The robots were plentiful, but easy to dispatch. Cologne was slashing them into metal confetti with deft blows so fast they were invisible. Her opponents were gathered around her, their heated engines giving her an idea. With a feral grin she led them into the spiral. Machines are so simple; she thought as she unleashed the uppercut that was the inevitable conclusion.

"Hiryuu Shoten Ha!" she cried as the chi charged cyclone whipped into frenzy, demolishing them instantly. Cologne looked to Kikuko to see how she was doing and blinked. She was thrashing them in a combination Neko-ken and Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Golden blades would suddenly erupt out of nowhere beneath the machines, impaling them. After a rapid series of slashes, she held her right palm out before unleashing a wave of golden ki that tore through the robots like they were paper.

"Ahhhh!" a woman screamed. The warrior girls whipped their heads around to see what was going on and stared in shock as they saw the man standing with an arm tightened around her neck from behind. What drew their attention, however, was the gun held to her head. He seemed competent with the gun on the surface, but the two chi experts could see his aura was imbalanced from nervousness.

"Stop this!" Kikuko cried as she saw him tighten his hold. Nodoka was struggling weakly to escape. The redhead made an odd hissing sound as she watched her grandmother in distress. Cologne surreptitiously pulled out more needles from her sleeve. The "elder" was preparing for a burst of speed far beyond anything she could do when she was older. With a burst of ki the needles vanished, her arm seemingly motionless, but her sleeves were smoking from the friction. The man yowled in pain and rage as needles impaled every inch of his arm like a freakish porcupine. The captured woman suddenly thrust her elbow back before cracking him with a spin kick and diving out of the way. With Neko-ken speed Kikuko rushed past Garzett with the sword extended. He tried to erect the shield to defend himself but he was simply a millisecond too slow. With a cry of rage and pain he collapsed into pieces. The injured woman lay on the ground crying from pain. Just then Ranma and Birdy appeared on the scene. The pigtailed boy rushed over to his mother and pulled her into a hug. She needed medical treatment which could be provided at Birdy's ship.

"I'm taking her to the ship. Find out what happened, Birdy." He said curtly before leaping away with his precious cargo. His girlfriend looked to the two girls who helped so much and sighed.

"Tell me about it." She ordered. Ranma seemed so cold just now. Birdy understood how he felt but he seemed strangely angry at her and it hurt. Kikuko gave the report as short and succinct as she could while Cologne tried to glean what she could from the body. At the name Mora Garzett the policewoman nearly crumbled. If her daughter hadn't grabbed her she would have collapsed.

"Mom…what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. The other redhead drew in a few shuddering breaths as she got her emotions under control.

"H-he was a guy I liked when I was just a rookie. Mora meant everything to me, but he gradually began growing colder and more distant. When I heard he was killed on an assignment I grieved over the loss. Two people I loved a great deal were dead by this time. I-I never knew he was still alive…" she pushed away from the future girl and went to where Cologne was examining the corpse. Kikuko groaned as she realized how bad this was going to look, but if she convinced her Mom not to say anything it would be even worse when he found out. Suddenly an exclamation of shock drew her attention to the investigation.

"What's up?" she asked as she got closer. Cologne looked as if she were playing with the remains until she got closer. The young Amazon kneeled down and peeled back the skin, revealing that it was actually synthetic skin covering a metal skeleton. It was cleverly made too, it would have held up to nearly any form of normal detection. Birdy was visibly shaking at this revelation. Of course it couldn't have been the real Mora. He's dead. Just as they were peering closer a shadow loomed overhead. The three girls leapt away just in time to avoid a black cyborg drop down. It was wielding a huge ninja sword that was easily as tall as he was.

"Now what?" Cologne demanded irritably. The machine seemed to be much faster than their previous opponents and was scanning them like a real person would. He suddenly lashed out at Birdy who whipped out a ki construct tonfa to block but the sheer force of the blow sent her flying. Cologne's suddenly lunge into the Bakusai Tenketsu produced some results such as his armor cracking marginally. From the crack a head erupted from the chest chattering madly. It looked like something from a nightmare.

"We need to take that thing down and fast…Moko Takabisha!" Birdy cried as she fired the ball of blue confidence chi only to have it deflected by the sword. She tried a Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken to crack his armor further but the creature whipped her fists away with its tongue. The cyber ninja was joined by others that seemingly dropped down from out of nowhere.

"The future is mine Kikuko Saotome! I'm not out to kill you, just to kill your mother or your father…Either one will suffice! If even one of them dies than you will cease to exist!" Kagato howled maniacally.

"What the hell was that?" the young Chinese girl demanded.

"That was Kagato…Time to use my secret weapon… ARMS II launch!" Kikuko called out. The suit of power armor flared into existence on her body. There were six cyber ninjas. It just wasn't fair…for them. Kikuko's first empowered attack tore into the cyber ninja's chest and exploded out the back clenching a black beating heart just before crushing it. A high whine filled the air before the cyborg died. The original pressed the attack on Birdy.

"Saotome Sealed Technique…Kishin Ryu Dan!" the policewoman called out as she unleashed the vacuum blade attack, tingeing the blades with blue ki that shredded through his exposed chest. The creature exploded in a shower of bloody offal. Cologne gathered chi into her palm, focusing her power into a tight little ball before she hurled it outward. It struck her opponent in the chest, detonating on impact, and hurling cybernetic body parts down like rain. The remaining three cyborgs began warily circling their opponents, putting the girls in the middle. ARMS II was in high stance mode with her aura radiating out of it, but something held her back. She could easily dispatch these guys but then her mom might be exposed to attack. The family blade was held firmly in her hand. She said a prayer to the blade to help her protect her family. With that she bent her knees slightly as she swept the sword into a two-handed stance.

Cologne was watching their circling enemies warily. She had to use more ki than she expected to destroy even one of them. It was a terrible state of affairs when an Amazon matriarch was just barely enough to turn the tide. The girls standing back to back with her were both incredibly powerful and skilled martial artists so she was able to calm her younger nerves with the knowledge that she was being watched over. It was strange how that felt. Her lips quirked into a smile as she relaxed into a lazy seeming stance. Her knees bent and she was crouched over at the waist with her knives dangling from her fingers as she swayed.

Birdy realized just how important she was. Here was this girl from the future who thought she had nothing to worry about. Her parents were obviously in love and if things continued than she would be born in due time, but this Kagato was threatening that future and that just rubbed her the wrong way. This was her daughter that he was screwing with. She should just stay back and remain safe, but what happened if Kikuko died as a result or Cologne? Imperceptibly she moved into the final stance of the Anything Goes style with her hands clasped lightly in front of her.

Kagato was monitoring the battle and after Kikuko had turned the tide of battle now once, but twice he created a device to measure life force or chi as they called it. His scanner suddenly erupted into an emergency alarm forcing him to tear his eyes away from what would be a slaughter only to stare in horror at the readings. The three girls' auras had nearly quadrupled in intensity. The aura swirl forming around them was almost casually lapping at his cyborg creations' feet as they prepared to attack.

"So this is where she got such power…" he mused as he prepared to draw back from the battle. No sense in continuing to watch since the battle data would be compiled by the ship for future viewing. It was pointless to watch when he could already predict the outcome. Even with the cyborgs' next generation aura barrier they were as good as dead. The only sound to mark his leaving was a mini sonic boom. His prediction turned out to be accurate. The cyborgs charged only to be slashed, pummeled, and diced into submission.

"It appears we won." Cologne said with poorly concealed relief. She never expected it to be that much of a challenge. The lavender haired girl felt as if she ran a marathon. Birdy brought her into a hug.

"That was something I wouldn't want to repeat." She said, as relieved as Cologne. Kikuko threw her arms around both of them after disengaging ARMS II.

"We need to check on Dad and Grandma." Kikuko said just before a freak rainstorm hit. It was so strange because it lasted just long enough to trigger the curse and to only get her soaked. The girl-turned-boy groaned. Cologne snickered at him until her eyes were suddenly riveted below his waist. Kikuko was confused about what she was staring at until her mother pointed downward. The gender bender looked down and let out a definitely unmanly squeak when he realized what they were staring at. The thirteen-year-old girl shook her head so hard she almost got whiplash and managed to get her hormones under control. With a last hug they took off across the rooftops.

The Ship-

Ranma sat in the ship watching his mother float in the healing tank and sighed. He had been angry at Kikuko and Birdy for trying to keep him away, but he had to admit he wasn't exactly good with his emotions. His mother had been kidnapped and injured. According to the message Birdy gave him it had been a ploy developed by Kagato to kill the ones responsible for bringing Kikuko into the world. If she was that good at what she did that someone would risk a paradox to get rid of her then he had to make sure she was born. His mother was touching the glass as she watched him. He placed his hand on hers. The heartfelt moment was ruined when the hatch hissed and opened, admitting Birdy he supposed. The love of his life walked into the room and hugged him.

"How's she doing?" Birdy asked.

"Doing better…It should take another hour or so to fully heal her." He said as he nuzzled her neck. The redhead in his arms held on tighter wondering what he was thinking. He was trembling slightly.

"What's wrong baby?" she asked as she stroke the back of his head.

"I-I need to ask you something…" Ranma began nervously. Birdy gave him her full attention. "B-Birdy…would you marry me?" he asked. Birdy had tears flowing down her face as she kissed him fiercely, her arms holding him tightly and not letting go. Kikuko and Cologne were watching the exchange but wisely stayed silent. The martial artist girl having found hot water. The time traveling redhead sniffled, thanking her lavender haired companion as she produced a box of tissues. The girls cried at the beautiful scene. It could have gone on forever but Ranma had to come up for air.

"That was a yes if you need an explanation." Birdy said with a smirk. The pigtailed boy grinned and rubbed her back before realizing they had an audience. To his credit he only blushed and didn't jump away like his first impulse told him to do.

"That was so beautiful!" Cologne of all people wailed and fell sobbing in Kikuko's arms. The redhead blinked as she patted her on the back in confusion. Birdy giggled at the youthened elder's antics.

"Birdy, we need to talk. Alone." He gave the listeners a look that spoke volumes. That was the cue for Kikuko and Cologne to leave. After they had left the room, Birdy looked to her fiancé.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's that Kagato guy… I have an idea on how we can help her but it may not be pretty." He outlined his plan much to his future wife's horror.

"You wouldn't! I know she used something similar but you must have perfected it by then." Birdy protested.

"But if we employed safeguards. I got the actual scroll for teaching it. It details months of meditation and conditioning it also doesn't require a pit of starving cats." He told her.

"Oh kami-sama…You are serious…" she buried her face in his shoulder and wept. If they wanted to protect her than they needed to teach her the most powerful technique in the galaxy. The True Neko-ken.

Street-

The streets weren't as crowded as they had thought for midday, which was good because the girls didn't want to roof hop just now. Cologne was playing cute little girl as she held Kikuko's hand. The older girl bore it all in stride with a smirk until something wiped that smirk off her face. Her body felt strange. Without warning she collapsed to the pavement with her eyes wide and unseeing.

"K-Kikuko? Wake up!" the thirteen-year-old girl screamed as she tried to rouse her friend, but it didn't work. It appeared as if the girl was having a seizure, her heels were banging the concrete spasmodically. No one wanted to stop and help. An insistent pair of small hands suddenly grabbed the next person that came by.

"What the hell?" the guy snapped at the girl currently staring up at him. She was a pretty thing so he decided something right there.

"My friend's sick…Can you help?" she put on her best puppy dog eyes unknowingly playing into the man's deranged hands.

"Sure…" he smiled reassuringly. As soon as she turned her back, he was in motion. The chloroform came out and he quickly wrapped his left arm around her, pinning her arms even as the cloth pressed to her face. He almost wasn't fast enough as she cried out in surprise. The girl was strong and her struggles were enticing him, but he had martial arts training and was an accomplished breaker so he knew his strength was more than enough.

Cologne struggled while holding her breath but she knew she couldn't last against before she had to breath. Her faint sobs echoed in her mind mockingly. The only one who could help her was unconscious and she needed help as well.

'Kikuko…' Cologne thought in despair as she went under.

Kikuko's mind was a whirl of thoughts. It felt as if someone had taken hold of her brain and flipped it upside down. Thoughts were forcing their way in. Memories of Neko-ken training involving cats and periods of darkness. It felt strange as she remembered things that her mind knew never happened, but that turned out to be just as valid as her real memories.

'What's going on?' she thought.

'Time travel can be a bitch.' Her subconscious answered back.

'What do you mean…?'

'Simple. Your parents realized the difficulty that Kagato presented and vowed to teach you the Neko-ken. The real deal and not what your dad created.'

'Why?'

'Because they love you so much that they would hurt you to keep you alive. The expression 'This hurts me more than it does you' is true in this instance.'

'…Who are you?'

'I am you, but at the same time not you. You only get one chance at this. Will you accept the Neko-ken and all that it involves?' her inner voice asked. As the voice quieted she swore she could hear crying and realized it was Cologne. She sounded distressed about something. A smell reached her that made her flinch. It was a man whose soul was corrupted and the smell was his aural "stink".

'I don't have time for this! Cologne's in trouble and her younger body isn't as strong. I accept! Just let me wake up!' she cried out in panic. Something warm and furry crawled inside of her, magnifying her already intense feelings. What pushed to the forefront was anger. With a primal cry she awakened.

Outside of her mind-

The man was pleased with what he had. According to that guy with the silver hair he could find a real prize and here he was, holding his new toy. A strange rumbling sound reached his ears. He searched for the source of the noise and realized it was a cat's purr, but much deeper and more menacing. His eyes locked on the still form of Kikuko. He had to blink as in a thrice she was crouched, her left hand lightly touching the ground, and rubbing her cheek with her right hand.

"Now what…?" he asked in confusion as something fought for dominance in his mind. The pervert had heard a number of stories about Nerima and suddenly one of them leapt to mind with startling clarity. The tales of a boy who could turn into a redheaded girl that fought like a cat demon. He was suddenly faced with a very real living legend and knew fear. The cat girl gave him a feral snarl as he held his victim before him as a shield. He gaped in astonishment as she disappeared. The girl in his arms suddenly reappeared behind the protective feline.

"Meow" was the last thing he heard before everything tumbled into darkness. As his consciousness fled, felt his body born up by a veritable hail of blows. His last thought was on maybe improving his life.

The Neko girl turned to check on her friend and nuzzled her neck softly to see if she was okay. The lavender haired girl came around soon after to find herself inches away from Kikuko's concerned face, but something was off. When the redhead saw that she was awake, she mewed happily and nuzzled her again before licking the tip of her nose. Cologne was certain that was not normal behavior.

"Kikuko?" she asked curiously. The Neko girl began purring loudly and butting her head against her chest playfully. No doubt about it, the girl was in the full Neko-ken, but what about the male who did this to her? When she got a look at what had become of him she felt vaguely ill. He looked as if a cat had mauled him, which is a fairly accurate description.

"Miyah!" Kikuko exclaimed before clambering into her lap. The Chinese girl sighed and petted her friend gently.

"I said it before and I'll say it again… Nothing is dull around a Saotome…" she smiled as her friend went to sleep.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: The Kikuko side story is over. Next chapter we find out what happened to Mihoshi and let me tell you it won't be quite as you remember. Of course with me writing that holds doubly true. I hope you all read and enjoy! It doesn't matter if you review, even if reviews are nice, all that matters is that you enjoy the story. Ja ne!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash.

Author's Notes: This chapter stars everyone's favorite blonde…Mihoshi! Some of the events of Tenchi will be covered as well as others explored. I enjoyed Tenchi Muyo but I better warm you, this will be AU and OOC. Enjoy the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 7

Skies above…wherever-

Mihoshi had been cruising around for hours with nowhere to go. Her mind was on what had happened to her best friend, Kikuko. That bastard Kagato destroyed her with his cannon as if she was nothing. It brought the flood of tears back when she though of how her friend sacrificed herself to save her friends. According to her scanners, a temporal anomaly had registered just before the beam ceased, meaning she was somewhere in time. That didn't matter. She would find Kagato and get revenge for what happened to her friend. The good times they had played through her mind like a sickening movie that only served to hurt her heart worse.

'She wouldn't want me to grieve forever…but it hurts. The only one who understood me…who understood the real me…is gone…' she sobbed. With a scream of pain and rage she struck the console.

"Malfunction…Malfunction…Steering compromised…Navigation compromised…Warning…Warning…Evacuate immediately…" the ship's computer beeped. The console was smoking and sparks were shooting from the steering panel. The blonde wonder realized that striking the flight equipment might not have been such a good idea. She expended her entire repertoire of swear words twice before she calmed down using the techniques that Kikuko taught her. When her eyes opened she was much calmer and able to see the only action available to her. Eject. She popped the eject button and started to jibber. The button was jammed. A sign was attached to it.

"Out of order"

The girl slowly, quietly, flipped out.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Masaki Shrine-

A lovely temple rested in the mountains. Nestled comfortably in the same spot that it had enjoyed for seemingly forever. A short distance away a quaint house resided. It was home to a boy, his father, and his grandfather. A space pirate, two princesses, and a cabbit who all more or less got along joined the household. Harmony had descended over the house as they prepared to eat Sasami's excellent home cooking. She was a sweet natured blue haired girl from the planet Jurai and the younger sister of Ayeka. Ayeka was a purple haired girl who was demure and proper, until she saw Ryoko and the gloves came off. Ryoko was a cyan haired girl who had a hairstyle like a bad tempered porcupine. She possessed a cat-like tail. Tenchi was a kind boy, if a little wishy-washy, who had somehow ended up on the receiving end of the girls' sometimes exuberant affections. His dad was a pervert who would gladly have his son's girl troubles and his grandfather was a kind man, rather tall, with iron hair held in a long ponytail with glasses. One never knew what he was truly thinking. Add to that an adorable creature that was half cat, half rabbit, and a transforming spaceship, and you had the Masaki household. The peace was shattered by something crashing into the lake.

"Oh my! What was that?" Ayeka asked.

"How should I know?" Ryoko asked. It looked like it was getting ready to degenerate into one of their infamous arguments until Grandpa broke it up.

"That can wait until later." He informed them just before everyone ran outside to see what was going on. The sight that greeted them was familiar. A ship was half submerged in the lake. By the look of it, the ship was of a new design, but it was undeniably a Galaxy Police cruiser.

"I hope they're alright…" Sasami dithered. Tenchi took off running for the lake followed closely by his grandfather. He didn't know what suddenly seized him, but time was of the essence and he surrendered himself to the impulse.

They reached the water's edge and leapt into the water. They had been shedding their clothes as they ran so when they reached the water they were stripped to their underwear. The cold water shocked Tenchi's body as they swam hard for the ship. Out of his peripheral vision he saw his grandfather swimming as easily as a dolphin. It wasn't the time to worry about being graceful. They reached the door of the ship, it was already mostly under water. It took their combined efforts to pull the emergency lever and get the door open. Inside the ship it was rapidly filling with water. They shut the door to buy themselves some time but it wouldn't stop the ship from sinking.

"You go that way and I will go this way." His grandfather instructed. Tenchi nodded and moved off to the right. When Tenchi was out of sight, Katsuhito underwent a transformation. He turned from a fit old man to a regal young man with long black hair and an imperial bearing. Time was short and the victims needed to be found fast. He tapped the power of Jurai and determined that he was right in his assessment as he reverted. Tenchi should find her shortly.

Flight deck of the cruiser-

The door still had emergency power thankfully so the door opened easily. The sight that greeted his eyes was of a beautiful blonde girl, blood was oozing slightly from a gash on her forehead, but otherwise she appeared unharmed. Tenchi quickly undid the flight straps and pulled her out of the pilot's chair. He may not have looked that strong, but due to his mixed heritage he was stronger than he looked. Tenchi scooped the girl up into his arms and bolted for the exit. If it sunk like a car did than the end would still be higher in the water. Hopefully it worked like that. He reached the entry point just as his grandfather got there.

"Anyone else?" Tenchi asked.

"No one. Is she alright?" he asked, inquiring about the girl. The boy nodded.

"We need to swim a good distance upward. Take several breaths to limber your lungs and suck in as much as you can. Keep the girl's nose and mouth shut. When you need to breath out, breath it into her. Ready?" he asked. Tenchi nearly went spastic at the idea of having to constantly have his lips on this beautiful girl's, but he could understand. The boy got his hormones under control easily enough. Katsuhito grasped the door.

"!…2…3!" he cried as he pulled the door open. The little area quickly filled with water since the doors were shut. Just before the water went over the girl's head, Tenchi held his hand over her nose and mouth. The journey to the surface was pure hell. Katsuhito stayed beside Tenchi but didn't help. His grandson could respect that he was trying to teach self reliance. Every so often, Tenchi would seal her mouth with his and breath into her. The lack of oxygen was starting to make him dizzy, but their trip through a nightmare ended as they broke the surface. The blonde in his arms weakly coughing up water. It took even more time to get back to shore. The girls tried to crowd around him but he waved them off as he laid the girl down. Then a truly stupid fight broke out.

"Why are you worried about her? The Galaxy Police can handle themselves." Ayeka demanded haughtily.

"I hate to admit it, but she's right. Now, if you want to fuss over something…how about me?" Ryoko smirked. The wrangling set his teeth on edge and this was already trying his patience.

"Will you two at least **pretend** to be decent people?" he hissed angrily before turning his attention back to the girl. He rolled her onto her stomach despite the strange looks he was getting from the scolded ones. His grandfather gave him advice on where to push and how hard. Eventually she choked up a huge fountain of water and began coughing weakly, crying like a drowned kitten. Tenchi picked her up and held her like one would hold a baby. He was amazed at how beautiful she was and at the level of sorrow in her tears. The only thing she said before she passed out was:

"Kikuko."

The Next Morning-

The sounds of sparring outside woke up the blonde policewoman known as Mihoshi. It was a sound so familiar that when she ran to the window she was disappointed to see two young women sparring intensely. To ordinary people it would look like they were trying to kill each other, which they were, but after hanging around Kikuko it appeared to be sparring. A tear fell as she thought about her friend before it was wiped away. She looked around the room, finally seeing it for the first time, and wondered how she got here. It was a nice room with a futon on the floor and little else, but after being in a cramped ship's cabin, it looked like heaven. She dimly remembered the ship crashing down to the water and that was it.

"I'm still alive…" she said to herself. Normally she was the Energizer Bunny and no one could keep her down, but that was before her best friend was killed. She had to have been the strongest person in the universe and she was dead. With a fierce cry she struck the window frame, demolishing it instantly. What set the people of Workoh apart from most denizens of the universe is their gravity. The planet's gravity is nearly fifty times that of Earth. She stared at her hand in wonder as if she had never seen it before. Kikuko had told her once that all a martial truly needs is the drive to win and to succeed. The redhead had taught her quite a bit about her school but she had never practiced it much. It just a neat way to stay in shape and to make her partner happy.

"I can fight…" she said in wonder just before the door burst open and a young man with black hair and a pigtail rushed in. He seemed agitated about something. Mihoshi realized with a start that it must have sounded like someone was using explosives.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern as he drew closer. His eyes were wide with concern as he swept his gaze across her. He noticed her right hand looked a little scratched up but she seemed fine otherwise. It was then that he noticed the window. The window was gone.

"I'm okay, but I'm sorry about your window…" she said. Tenchi frowned as he heard the note of depression in her voice and could think of nothing to say but to maybe ease her mind.'

"That's fine…Ayeka and Ryoko do more damage than that when they fight…" he said. He didn't realize that he sounded a little worn out. Mihoshi figured they were fighting over him and was startled when she found out she was right.

"I'm sorry…my name's Tenchi." He said.

"Mihoshi." She replied. His eyebrow went up.

"I thought it was Kikuko…?" he asked tentatively. The reaction he got was not what he expected. She burst into tears and flung her arms around him, sobbing her heart out. At first the boy freaked, but held her close as she cried. He realized that he must have pushed a button that shouldn't be pushed.

"She was m-my best friend…" Mihoshi bawled, trembling uncontrollably. Using wisdom beyond his years he simply stayed silent and held her. The moment could have lasted longer if Ayeka and Ryoko weren't currently peering through the demolished window. As usual they put two and two together and got applesauce.

"Let go of my Tenchi!"

"Leave Lord Tenchi alone!"

The obviously crazed women flew in for the attack. Cop instincts kicked in suddenly and Tenchi found himself pushed out into the hallway. Mihoshi pivoted on her left foot and swung her right around with a speed just short of blinding, taking Ryoko in the chest and hurling her to the ground outside. The blonde was in a tee shirt and shorts, the only thing they had for her to sleep in, which was just fine by her.

"I don't even want Tenchi!" she exclaimed in irritation. She just wanted to go back to being an airhead, a ditz, a bubble brain, but she couldn't afford the luxury anymore. The one who protected her was gone and now she had to stand on her own feet. Her words hadn't even penetrated Ayeka's thick skull. The First Princess of Jurai unleashed a force field punch into Mihoshi's midsection, but could only stare as the girl simply grunted and shrugged it off, thereby leaving herself wide open for the wrist grab, twist, and fierce throw that planted her next to Ryoko. The princess looked to the space pirate.

"What is she?" Ayeka asked.

"Damned if I know…but I'm not letting some weakling beat me!" Ryoko exclaimed. The two assailants got back to their feet and prepared to attack again. Mihoshi was standing at the window. If they wanted to continue fighting she would gladly oblige. She had a lot of rage to work through.

"Stop it!" Tenchi shouted. He didn't want to see the new girl get hurt, he missed what she did to Ryoko and Ayeka, hence why he thought she needed protection. The boy rushed over to stop his vengeful suitors only to find the blonde girl leap out the window, turn a lazy spin in the air, and plant her feet in the girls' chests hurling the purple haired girl and the cyan haired girl away from the house. Mihoshi had landed in a crouch.

"…I'm angry…" Mihoshi said quietly. "…I'm depressed…" she began walking. "All he did was comfort me you jealous bitches! I already have someone I love!" she cried out before suddenly stopping. The blonde's angry façade died as tears cascaded down her face. Suddenly she knew why her heart felt so broken. She just wanted to lash out and hurt someone. When Ryoko teleported in front of her and nailed her in the jaw, that wasn't the brightest thing she could have done. Mihoshi flew into the ground with enough force to break a lesser person while Ayeka hurled a ball of pure force at her prone form. The girl gritted her teeth, not in pain, but in anger. When she stood up and smiled, it gave them chills.

"Let's play."

Masaki Shrine-

Tenchi ran into the shrine so fast that he almost bolted past his grandfather, but the old man grabbed hold of him and brought him to a halt.

"What's wrong Tenchi?" he asked his grandson.

"That new girl…She said her name's Mihoshi but I think Ayeka and Ryoko want to kill her!" he exclaimed.

"Why would they do that?" the old man needed details or he wouldn't be able to help.

"She was crying and I was hugging her…They jumped to the wrong conclusion!" Tenchi was starting to get frantic. When a powerful explosion rocked the shrine, the two Masakis took off at a dead run. The sight that greeted them actually made them laugh. Mihoshi was still standing, but her attackers were flopped on the ground holding their heads. The blonde smile even it was filled with pain, before she too collapsed. Out of the three of them, Ryoko was the first one to get back on her feet. She walked over to Tenchi who visibly tensed up as she leaned towards his ear.

"She needed to blow of some steam." Ryoko said with a smirk before sauntering away. It looked as if she hadn't been in a fight at all. Katsuhito groaned and said something about being too old for all this. Tenchi had an idea about what happened, but why would Ryoko care that much to take the fall? On the other hand, Ayeka definitely wasn't faking. Her sister was fussing over her and putting bandages wherever they were needed. His dad was tending to Mihoshi, but Grandpa stopped him from performing an in depth inspection. His father wanted to join the FBI, Female Body Inspectors.

"…It just wouldn't be a normal day without chaos." He lamented sadly as he helped Sasami tend to the wounded.

Later that day-

Mihoshi had recovered quickly despite the beating she took, but took no pleasure from the beautiful day around her. She sat on the back porch, her hand tracing lazy circles on the wood. There was only so long you could cry, but somehow when she wasn't crying she looked even more miserable. A small bundle of furry fun bounded up to her with a meow. The cabbit nudged her hand. Mihoshi looked down at the small animal and gently scooped her up, holding her close. Ryo-Ohki truly understood how to make someone feel better. Before long the two of them were sleeping on the porch in the golden sun.

"So that's what happened to her." Ayeka said simply. Ryoko had dived down to find anything she could about the mysterious policewoman and had brought back quite a bit. Some of the things weren't even Mihoshi's, but they mattered as well. A photograph had been saved. It was held safe in an airtight glass picture frame. The picture showed Mihoshi and a strange girl with red hair and blue and purple streaks standing in front of a railing with purple scenery and even the sky was purple. The girl beside their mystery blonde was easily taller than Mihoshi with her fiery hair held in a high ponytail. Her clothes consisted of a red jacket, black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. She seemed like a nice person. Her grin was huge and she had her arm around Mihoshi's shoulders. That wasn't all they found. A log was recorded of her last battle and it was certainly an eye-opener. Spaceships transforming into larger ships, daring space maneuvers, and that was just in the first five minutes. The tape culminated with a figure in a suit of power armor rocketing towards the larger ship, identified by Ryoko as the Soja, and getting vaporized.

"It was a sacrifice worthy of a samurai." Grandpa said. Tenchi couldn't believe it. That was the person Mihoshi was grieving over? He didn't know how he knew, but his gut told him she wasn't dead. He wanted to say something, yet he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. Still, there had to be a way… That was when his eyes fell on her bracelet. It had been identified as a communicator/locater as well as storage device. Ryoko had tested it on Mihoshi's ship and said it still worked.

"Hmmm…" he wasn't normally a nosy boy, but he was curious about what it did. No one seemed to be paying attention when he pushed a couple buttons. The little piece of jewelry hummed strangely before it began to flash rapidly. That drew their attention.

"Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked in concern.

"Dammit! Who knows what you did. If the ship reappears here it's all gonna be on your head, literally." Ryoko growled. Her affection for Tenchi was a fickle thing. Scaring her caused her resolve to waver. As suddenly as it began it ended, but not before a display appeared informing them that the beacon was activated.

"Grandpa…what do they mean by beacon?" he asked.

"Homing beacon. Generally used by officers to find their partners. It probably won't work- " he said but was cut off when another display appeared. This message said the beacon was intercepted. That got everyone's attention.

"Perhaps she is not dead…?" the purple haired girl asked uncertainly.

"Maybe not, but then again…" Ryoko started, but surprisingly it was Sasami who completed the thought.

"It might be a trap." The girl sounded strangely older and wiser, but as usual no one paid her any mind. Still, Katsuhito gave her a closer scrutiny. It was decided to hold this information in reserve while someone investigated this. Since they weren't sure how dangerous this person was, it was also decided that Ryoko would go.

"…Tomorrow I'll head over to this Nerima place to find out what's going on. We can't let that poor defenseless girl get in trouble." She quirked a smile. It was strange to see the selfish pirate acting selflessly, but seeing Kagato's ship did wonders. Mihoshi was found so that they could start dinner. It looked as if things had gotten back to normal. The picture was returned to the dejected policewoman who could only stare at the precious picture. She asked who found it and was informed that Ryoko had done it. Despite Ryoko's protests, Mihoshi launched at her and gave her an Amazon-worthy glomp. The dinner passed slowly with everything winding down. Tenchi looked to the bracelet once again and sighed.

"Tomorrow we'll know…" he thought as he dug into his dinner.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Next chapter will have Kikuko returning to the story, but how will her meeting with Ryoko go, especially with some of the things Ryoko had done? It will be an explosive chapter! Ja ne!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash with Wild Arms being mentioned.

Author's Notes: Here it comes! What's going to happen when Kikuko meets Ryoko? Mihoshi finds out about the curse? What can possibly go wrong next? Stay tuned for this exciting installment of Kikuko the Mighty!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 8

Skies over Nerima-

It was harder than she thought it would be to locate the signal. All the beacon had done was tell her that Mihoshi was still alive and not much else. After all, who else would have the signal? Suspicion nagged at her mind as she recalled Kagato, but stubbornly pushed that thought down. She had to hope that she would see her friend again. Her current companion was Cologne. The younthened elder of the Amazons was clinging to her ARMS flight pack using her sharp eyes to monitor what was going on down below. When Kikuko had checked the signal this morning she was pleased to note that the beacon was much closer than yesterday.

"Are you sure about this?" Cologne asked through the small transmitter she was wearing. It was a simple earpiece with microphone designed to filter out background noise. If it weren't made for that then the loud rush of air would have deafened Kikuko.

"She's got to be down there somewhere. I know Mihoshi's alive." The redhead in power armor sounded almost desperate. The lavender haired girl prayed that it wasn't a trick. Her friend was practically dying the longer they were separated. When the younger girl looked up, however, her breath caught in her throat. A beautiful woman was ahead of them and coming in fast. Her spiky cyan hair barely ruffled by the wind and her outfit looked a strange kind of silk affair that exposed quite a bit of cleavage. That wasn't what made her gasp however; the mini scanner she held was telling her that she was the source of the beacon.

"I-Is that her…?" Cologne asked. The feeling of power was incredible!

"What…?" Kikuko asked then checked her own scanner. "That's not her." She sounded angry. "Why do you have Mihoshi's bracelet?" she roared into the loudspeaker. The woman stopped her advance before checking the beacon. She looked strangely relieved, but also a little nervous.

"Kikuko…Don't fight her. Something tells me there is more to this than you see." The young girl was glad she still had her wisdom. Besides, she didn't want to get involved in a fight in mid-air.

"Fine…" the girl said sullenly before sounding off through the loudspeaker. "What's going on? Who are you?"

Ryoko-

The beacon was hard to track. It seemed that whoever had it was moving around a lot, but it couldn't be down below, hence why she was searching the sky. The blonde back home was getting worse even with Ryo-Ohki's help. She was getting angrier and more depressed. Ryoko knew what it was like to hate the whole universe and was glad that she had Tenchi, even if she was forced to share him, but she didn't want Mihoshi to go through that.

"If only they knew…" she murmured with a smirk. The space pirate with a heart of gold, oh the irony of it all. Suddenly the proximity sensor on the beacon let her know her quarry was near. She scanned the horizon until she saw a suit of power armor and swallowed involuntarily. The design of it was something she had never seen before, and she had seen a lot, but it also appeared to have a passenger so she figured it was friendly. After all, how many mech suits of destruction have kids hitching a ride? With that thought in mind she flew over to it, noticing that it was form fitting and that whoever was in there could give her a run for her money in several areas. The mech suddenly stopped going forward. She was getting ready to hail it when a sharp spike in power alerted her to the mech's hostile intentions.

"Why do you have Mihoshi's bracelet?" the armored figure shouted out through the com system. That did **not** sound good at all. Before she could answer the girl seemed to be saying something to the mech pilot.

"Fine…" was the sullen response before she said louder. "What's going on? Who are you?" That was better. She was actually going to listen.

"My name's Ryoko and I know where to find Mihoshi." She managed to say before the mech lit up like a Christmas tree. The gold lightning arcing along the armored body was a malevolent warning of things to come if she didn't talk fast.

"She's back at my home. She crash-landed in the lake outside our home and she's been there ever since. W-we didn't tell her we found you until we were sure." Ryoko wasn't used to being scared, but it seemed to the smart thing to do since the power output was easily three times her own confidence power.

"Then let's go. Know this; if you're lying I'll disassemble you." Her fist raised and glowed, the gold streaked through with red. "I promise." Ryoko gulped and nodded. At her full power she could easily fight this person, she thought, but her missing gems hampered her. The two streaked off into the distance without another word. Poor Cologne had to hold on tight or be swept off.

Nearing the Masaki Shrine-

The trip to the shrine was mostly uneventful except for one thing. Cologne was loudly protesting the fact that she had to hold on to a relatively smooth surface. Kikuko blushed inside the armor and held her in her arms. The young Amazon was glad she spoke up and could actually enjoy the ride without being in fear of flying off. Ryoko kept stealing sideways glances at her flying companion, measuring what she had heard and the girl's current attitude. Mihoshi said she was one of the sweetest people a person could meet but apparently any sweetness and light was in storage.

At the shrine they received a shock. It was approaching nightfall but what Ryoko was expecting and what she saw were completely different. Kagato was at the tree with Tenchi fighting him fiercely, but it was still a one-sided battle. The space pirate flew down as fast as she could but knew she wouldn't be in time. Tenchi was disarmed and helpless as the sinister scientist prepared for the final blow when Katsuhito arrived and mysteriously summoned the Tenchi-ken to him. As she neared, the old man shouted to her.

"Get away from here!" before he turned back to the fight, but Kagato merely laughed.

"Give me the key or have a taste of what this fool received!" he demanded arrogantly. The old priest merely smiled at him before throwing the ancient weapon against the tree where it stuck.

"If you want it…then you have to take it!" he said smugly. Kagato spun and tried to yank the strange hilt out and found himself electrocuted for his troubles. He snarled and summoned his machines. Two of the machines caught Sasami but were quickly demolished by Ayeka and Mihoshi. More appeared which prompted Ryoko to fight as well.

"You should help them." Cologne said to her friend. Kikuko merely nodded and aimed her hand down, palm out, and began gathering power. The small hairs on the back of Kagato's neck began to stand up. He had the inexplicable feeling that he was in the crosshairs of weapon and turned to see his worst fear given life. He roared at the vizier of destruction.

"ARMS!" he hated the name, but hated the machine more. It was considered a legend that the weapons of the ancient demon race still existed. The weapon above him, however, was a legend brought to terrifying life. He stared frantically at the battle before him and saw his objective. With a speed born of desperation he appeared behind Sasami and grabbed her. The girl cried out but could do nothing as she was pressed tightly against the scientist, his arm across her throat. The mech above him held her position as she continued to gather power. His plan suddenly seemed foolish. He didn't know that Mihoshi was sneaking up on him, her spirit lighter now that she saw who was in the air above her, and she was determined that the bastard would not get away again. As she leaped to retrieve the child, a purple blur slammed into her from the side, hurtling the startled girl into Kagato. The scientist had heard the noise and hissed balefully as he engaged his teleporter. It had taken all of ten seconds for it to go from a win to tragedy. The girl who crashed into Mihoshi was Ayeka. She stared at the spot her sister had been for several long moments before her face screwed up in fury and grief. The Princess of Jurai rounded on the upset blonde.

"How could you be so reckless? You let him escape with my sister!" she screamed. The policewoman couldn't even look at the infuriated young woman and simply cried. She clutched her arm as blood ran out from her torn uniform.

"I'm s-sorry…" Mihoshi was about to wail when a **very** angry voice sent a chill through the crowd. It wasn't the volume that got to them but the lack of it.

"How dare you blame her for that? I realize you're upset because your sister has been taken, but don't blame the woman who was doing her job." The speaker walked up slowly. A girl was beside her with lavender hair and red eyes. What made them draw a breath was the suit of power armor. Katsuhito had to check his eyes to be sure they weren't fooling him. It was an ARMS unit! It had red torso armor, thigh guards, shoulder pads, gauntlets, and boots. The rest was blue with a black visor. It looked evil, especially with the clearly glowing golden eyes. Her companion was cute if a little short; her hair was long and she was wearing a tight black shirt that covered hers arms and hung loose around her hands with a plaid skirt as well as black leggings and slippers. The armored one knelt beside Mihoshi and disengaged her helmet.

"K-Kiku-chan…" Mihoshi said tearfully. She tried to give her a hug, but her arm was obviously broken and it couldn't be moved. The armor vanished in an instant and she found herself cradled gently by her friend. Kikuko was crying as she held the wounded girl.

"It's alright Mihoshi-chan… It's okay…" Kikuko held her as Cologne straightened her arm out, using a pressure point to dull the pain. The redhead used her ki to heal Mihoshi's arm. The wound shrunk visibly before their eyes before all that was left was a pulsing red line and then not even that. She wilted from the expenditure, but if it brought her friend comfort, who was she to refuse?

"How did she do that?" Tenchi asked his grandfather.

"She is obviously quite gifted…as is the girl with her." The elder Masaki said to his grandson. Ayeka witnessed the spectacle and could only gape in wonder. If she were to help than surely her sister would be saved, but she had to admit she was wrong as well. She saw the policewoman getting ready for the lunge and should have realized she was taking advantage of the bastard's distraction to get her sister. It was her own fault that Mihoshi failed. The sister, not the princess, wept for Sasami.

"Kikuko. You need to rest." Cologne said in her "don't argue with me" voice.

"I-I will…but Kagato…" she was cut off by Katsuhito.

"We all need to rest. If we are tired we will be sloppy and it could be disastrous." When Ayeka went to argue he said firmly. "We cannot help effectively save your sister in this condition. Kagato must be defeated and we cannot take risks." He was adamant on that point. Mihoshi was lightly cradling Kikuko's already sleeping form with a strangely tender smile. Cologne smiled at the sight even as she quashed down the jealously, but it was certainly difficult. The others of the house finally agreed and went back into the house where the only one who could sleep easily that night was Kikuko.

Next morning-

It was time to fight. Kagato's ship would be even more of a challenge, thought Ryoko because they only had one ship, but Ayeka had an idea. As Ryo-Ohki hung in the air, it beamed up Ayeka's tree, thus increasing its already considerable might, but that wasn't the end of it. Mihoshi released the cruiser from her bracelet and let the water out. Kikuko blinked rapidly as she even saw fish flop from the interior of the ship. When Ryoko protested that it was too damaged, the two Galaxy Police officers smirked. ARMS was summoned and was connected to the ship. Before their eyes the ship was rejuvenated. It seemed that it had a nanomachine program that was activated using the redhead's ki. Any further questions were tabled in the face of the impossible. If the Soja had this kind of capability than they were in trouble. Strangely, Mihoshi had a contemplative look on her face before running inside the ship.

"What's she doing?" Ryoko asked.

"She's wasting time!" Ayeka declared angrily, but Tenchi had other ideas.

"Those two have worked together a lot, right? We should have faith they know what they're doing." He said. A girl's voice floated out from the ship followed by Mihoshi's cheerful exclamation.

"Guys! Get in here!" she cried. The assault party looked at each other before hurrying aboard. There was the blonde looking smugly at the view screen that held an image of a redheaded girl that looked like Kikuko only she had one blue eye and one green eye.

"Greetings those of the past! It is my humble pleasure to meet you!" she cackled with glee, making the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up.

"I am Ranko Saotome! Third child and genius extraordinaire! I am the one who rebuilt this ship and restored the ARMS unit. ARMS II features a unique capability that allows it to junction with ships and enable system fusion. I have heard of the cabbit ships and I have total confidence that such a fusion would be possible. Fusion is the unique ability to grant power greater than the sum of its parts, thereby transcending the original! A cabbit ship can initiate fusion better than any other ship in existence. The Soja is a truly wicked ship with unbelievable combat potential so you may need the extra power. Oh before I forget…Some people want to see you." She smiled. Suddenly the screen changed to show two girls. One had long purple hair and the other had orange hair with a blonde tuft in the front. They were smiling in relief.

"Mihoshi!" the chorused. If it was possible they would have jumped through the screen, but that simply could not be done.

"Hey guys! We're going after Kagato now, but we'll talk more later, k?" Mihoshi asked. The two girls nodded, but before they severed the connection.

"We're here if you need us." And then there was silence. The blonde turned to the others. She knew it was time to go. Ryoko promised to think about the fusion idea, but she wasn't so sure about it. It would depend on Ryo-Ohki. Cologne insisted on being aboard the police cruiser ship while the rest climbed aboard the cabbit ship. It was time to go.

They knew that no matter how careful they were their approach would not go unnoticed. Space was a beautiful place, but pretty soon it would be littered with machines and enemy ships. Apparently the stage was set and it was time for the opening act as dozens of drone ships hurtled out of nowhere before they even got close to the Soja. The GP cruiser veered right, huge arms burst forth bearing huge guns, ready to go. The force cannons making short work of any ship too stupid to dodge. Ryo-Ohki let out a fierce "Miyah!" before plowing through the enemy with fierce beams. Even though it took less than five minutes, they knew it was far from over, especially when stronger ships appeared around them. They had their first confirmed view of the Soja through the thickening machines.

"We'll keep them busy! Get inside the Soja and save Sasami!" Mihoshi ordered as the combat system kicked up to level three. The GP cruiser began reconfiguring itself. The back of the ship split into legs. The front of the ship split and came off before reattaching to the sides forming arms. It suddenly flipped up; the head looked vaguely like a ninja with a star above the glowing eyes. The mech executed an impressive kata before getting ready with a beam sword in its hand. The people aboard the ship blinked in astonishment.

"I'll stay back to help them." Tenchi volunteered. He had been told how the Lighthawk Wings on a Jurai ship worked so he planned on being their shield. The girls looked like they wanted to refuse him, but couldn't. He was absolutely serious about it. The pigtailed boy quickly got into the control unit for the remainder of the ship and launched. The drone ships that tried to attack were defeated by the still powerful weapon systems.

Ryo-Ohki took advantage of the break in the attack to get closer to the Soja. It hadn't tried to attack, which made the two girls uneasy. They made the docking procedures and quickly climbed aboard. They thought they were alone when Mihoshi ran up out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoko asked.

"There was a break in the fighting and Kikuko dropped me off. Cologne has grabbed a terminal cable and has been lending her ki to the cause." The blonde said, dressed in her battle outfit with a huge bazooka.

"Fine, but don't get in my way!" Ayeka cried, she was wearing her battle garb as well and took off flying down the hallway like a shot. The space pirate merely shrugged before taking off as well. Mihoshi growled before trying to run after them and tripping over her own feet, dropping her police issue cube storage unit. It glowed as it made contact before dropping her through the floor. The girl's only thought was "What a day…"

Outside the Ship-

The drones were relentless in their pursuit of destruction but the powerful mech was more than a match for them. Kikuko was thrilled that Kagato hadn't made his creations more powerful from the last time, but that didn't help the fact that they still had their ki shields. She would have been taken out long ago if Tenchi hadn't been there to guard her back but it appeared that they were pressing him more than her. The red mech tried to get to Tenchi through the thickening drones but they held her back from her goal. The pigtailed boy was holding them off bravely yet she could tell that the busted ship's power was waning rapidly. If she could get to him and give him some more power…

"**Moko Takabisha!**" she cried as she pumped extra power into the attack. The golden beam streamed out, vaporizing everything in its path. Kikuko couldn't help but feel relieved as the ranks of enemies began to thin out. As suddenly as she breathed in relief, disaster struck. The broken ship suddenly ran out of power and was destroyed completely. Even the tree looked severely battered. The world took on a terrible red hue as her anger reached its peak. She didn't know the boy well enough to be depressed but the needless waste of life infuriated her. Instead of calling out her attack, she screamed in fury. The golden wave quadrupled in size and turned red. She spun around in a circle, the never-ending stream destroying her foes in droves. The enraged girl dimly felt a flagging life force joined with hers. It barely registered until she realized in horror that she had Cologne piggybacking on all her attacks!

"**Cologne!**" she ended the attack quickly as her anger reached manageable levels. The lavender-haired girl sighed in exhaustion. It was a good thing the girl had some ki control or she might not have noticed her there.

"I'm okay…just tired…poor Tenchi…" the girl panted as she tried to get her heart rate under control. Kikuko silently agreed. She vowed to make them all pay for the poor boy known as Tenchi.

Through the Looking Glass-

Mihoshi may not always be the brightest bulb, but she knew when she was lost. Not only did she know she was lost, she knew she was in a different dimension, and that heading into the heart of the weirdness was the quickest way out. How did she know all this? When she was younger she went on a date with a boy named Cosmo Hibiki. The two of them went out for a while and he explained about getting lost. It was a good subject because their dates tended to end up being longer than they should. Their last date was five weeks. Since that time she was able to identify the different types of lost. This fell under a mild type she called "Mildly confused about current location". When she reached the weirdness center the blonde saw two snakes. Lucky for her they weren't real. There seemed to be something between the snakes so she went to investigate. It was a crystal coffin.

"Aiyee!" she screamed before getting herself under control. The girl inside appeared to be sleeping. She had spiky pink hair, much like Ryoko's hairstyle. She wore a black shirt, black shorts, and pink leggings. Mihoshi seemed lost in thought. Something was nagging at her mind as she tried to remember what her friend Kikuko said about ki control. She set her fingertips on the coffin.

"How did that go…? Take a deep breath…don't force it…and simply feel…" she breathed easily and let her mind go. It truly didn't take a lot of focus to call your ki so it was no surprise that Mihoshi managed to call hers the first time she tried. She felt her own warm ki fill her up as she extended it through the coffin lid. The policewoman didn't know how it would feel to touch a dead person, but today wasn't the day. A sleeping ki greeted her vibrant and active ki. Her heart jumped in indescribable happiness as she felt a familiar soul. It shot down through generations and speared her. She opened her eyes and looked at the diminutive girl with a smile. Quickly, the girl brought out her cube. Granted, she could smash the lid easily, but if it was pressurized than the girl inside would be scrambled as the air rushed back in. She tried remembering how to use the blasted thing as she turned it end over end, pushing on all the sides as she came to them. Finally she heard a chime, which said she did something, but when she looked at the coffin it was still closed. Flustered, she turned back to the cube to try again, but twin shadows appeared above her. The girl looked up to see the statues come to life.

"Oh damn…" she breathed before exploding into action. The snakes missed her, but just barely. Mihoshi was kept leaping about like a hyperactive pinball, narrowly avoiding the snakes. The cybernetic constructs narrowly avoided hitting the coffin. Mihoshi saw red. She brought her palms together like she had seen Kikuko do countless times and let her ki manifest. With all the aura exercises that her friend put her through she believed she could manage one attack.

"Rei-ken!" she cried as a burst of white ki rocketed out from her palms and nailed the snake into the floor. The other snake swiveled around in time to meet the same fate as she fired it a second time. Neither snake got back up, but her bazooka made sure they stayed down. The policewoman breathed a sigh of relief even as she leapt for joy. Her first ki attack and it had so much damage! If she had known that it shorted out their circuitry by projecting her ditz power into them then she might not cheer so loudly. Someone's soft clapping brought her back to the present.

"That was certainly impressive. I've never seen such a unique display…" Mihoshi spun around to see the girl she was trying to release standing there.

"What…?" she asked intelligently.

"If you're wondering how I'm out then I'll tell you. When you released the coffin you awakened the guardians. The guardians were constructed to keep me trapped here and to kill me if I escaped. What I would like to know is…How did you do that thing with your hands?" the girl asked.

"Why not tell me your name first. I'm Mihoshi." The blonde wonder introduced herself.

"Well…Mihoshi. I am Washu, the greatest scientist in the universe!" she began cackling until Mihoshi cleared her throat.

"I know one scientist greater than you, but she's not even born yet." The girl said with a smile. Try figuring that one out, she thought. Washu blinked a couple times.

"Time travel?" she suggested.

"Yep."

"Kagato's fault?"

"Yep."

"He's a bastard."

"Got it in one."

The two women looked at each other for a long moment before a sound attracted their attention. They moved over to a viewing globe that was there and Mihoshi gasped in shock. It showed Ayeka and Ryoko squaring off against Kagato. The fight was one-sided as the master of evil simply played one against the other. In a show of cruelty, he froze Ayeka and prepared to finish her off, but Washu quickly grabbed the cube and pressed a few sides. Mihoshi couldn't figure out what she was doing until Ayeka suddenly appeared on their side, but unconscious.

"How is that going to help?" the blonde asked.

"Ryoko was holding back to avoid hurting her, now she can use her full power." The scientist said. Ryoko, with her restored gems, was absolutely amazing to watch. Kagato used telekinesis to throw her into a pillar but had to dodge frantically when she fused with the pillar and became a giant construct of stone. With a negligent gesture he cut her apart with invisible blades. Once back on the Soja, it was obvious that his power was much greater than off the ship, and the former space pirate was discovering all of this first hand. She struggled valiantly, but ultimately couldn't win against such a superior foe. As she bowed her head, she didn't want to see the finishing stroke, her mind wandered back to Tenchi. If she focused, she could even hear his voice… Wait. That was Tenchi!

"Leave her alone Kagato!" the pigtailed boy appeared out of a portal, his heroic advance hampered by his foot getting stuck, but he pulled it loose and continued.

"Oh please…Don't make such a scene. I don't care what you think you can do because in the end you are a nothing. You're cute little Sasami will make a fine prize…as will the Tsunami. Yes…Tsunami…and the power of the Lighthawk Wings! So sorry Tenchi boy…but you must **die**!" Kagato said viciously as he summoned his power and unleashed it in a lethal killing wave of power. The figure of Tenchi was completely obscured by the blast of power. As the dust settled, Kagato gloated about how easily the child was defeated until he saw a glow. Six Lighthawk Wings were clearly visible through the clearing smoke. Tenchi stood there with a grim look of determination on his face. He held his arms out as the wings merged with his body becoming the white armor of Jurai. Another of the wings became a sword, which he brandished threateningly.

"What is this…?" Kagato asked in stunned amazement before he smiled. "The Wings of the Lighthawk! Give them to me!"

"If you want them…Come get them!" Tenchi said bravely as he readied himself. Kagato whipped out his sword.

"So be it!" He roared. The two rushed at each other so fast that only Mihoshi managed to see it and gasped in astonishment. Tenchi had sidestepped the swing before slashing through Kagato and abruptly appeared on the other side in the proper position.

"Yes! I'm free!" Washu exclaimed happily. All eyes fell on her as everyone was suddenly in the main room just as Kagato disintegrated.

"Who is that?" Ryoko asked as Ayeka began to wake up.

"I am Washu! The greatest scientist in the universe!" she cackled madly before subsiding. Ryo-Ohki bounded in as the group assembled. It all came out that she was a great scientist who was betrayed by her top student and had her daughter stolen from her. The daughter was supposed to also be an amazing weapon, but she wasn't going to be used for that. Kagato was her student and he took control of Ryoko and forced to become an evil space pirate with Washu safely locked up.

"Y-you're m mother?" the shocked girl exclaimed. At Washu's nod she got ready to refute it, but suddenly the ship lurched.

"I think you cut through the ship." She stated calmly. It would have been a senseless death, but Ryo-Ohki quickly turned into her spaceship form, gathered everyone aboard, and took off.

"Why can't life be normal…?" Tenchi complained.

Outside the Ship-

Kikuko was slowly running out of power, but she would never give in. She couldn't allow them to win. The mech was preparing another Moko Takabisha when suddenly the cabbit ship erupted out from the rapidly exploding Soja.

"Kikuko!" Mihoshi cried out happily over the com unit. The redhead was inexplicably relieved over hearing the bubbly girl's voice, but Tenchi's death still weighed heavily on her.

"Mihoshi…Tenchi is…is…" Kikuko couldn't finish that thought.

"Right here! Isn't that amazing!" the ditz proclaimed happily. She stared at the com unit for several seconds as she heard sudden laughter. The girl was getting ready to ask what it was about when suddenly the alarms went off.

"M-Mihoshi…What the hell is that!" Ryoko cried out as she stared at the screen. Out in space, where the ship had exploded, a throbbing membrane floated. Something shrieked through their brains and it continued for several seconds before it resolved into a voice.

You have made me angry…

"Kagato?"

Correct. You have enraged me beyond all reason. You fools are like cockroaches waiting for someone to crush them into the carpet. I take it as my sworn duty to destroy you. Farewell. the voice faded as the rippling sack of fluid began tearing. Viscous fluid sprayed out through space as claws exploded out from the sack. The beast within tore its way out, revealing it to be a massive pus green dragon with terrifying claws and even more terrible wings, it bore six of them, and they eerily resembled the Lighthawk Wings…

You used the power on me, which was what I needed…Thank you! Dragon Kagato roared in their minds.

"Just when you thought it couldn't get worse…" Cologne said resignedly. Looks like they had a fight on their hands.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Whew my ideas are overflowing…the story still isn't over yet of course. I have not yet begun to write! I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. Ja ne!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, or Dirty Pair Flash.

Author's Notes: I have developed over the years a fondness for mechs as you can clearly see in this fic. This story is not meant to be taken seriously of course so if the action seems a bit over the top, please look on kindly. This chapter is going to be pure chaos. Have fun!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 9

Space can be a beautiful place. There are rare sights in that vast expanse that can't even compare to many of the sights on Earth. One of those views, however, was far from beautiful, but it was as cause for great alarm. A dragon floated in space. It was a true monster of immense proportions that dwarfed the moon with its dimensions. Six beautiful wings extended from its crystalline body. It was sinuous with a pale blue shine, but the aura it radiated was pure evil. Those on board the GP cruiser and Ryo-Ohki were watching it continue to grow before their eyes as it absorbed the light of the sun.

How can you possibly defeat me? I have become a virtual god! his laughter rang through their minds, the force of his will pressed down upon them, but they refused to yield. There was a brief flurry of activity as they realized that Sasami had gone missing again. Before they could worry too much, a woman's voice spoke to them.

Worry not for her for I shall protect her. I am Tsunami. You must unite your powers to overcome this threat and to that end I grant you mine. the voice subsided, but the ships were suddenly wreathed in light as Lighthawk Wings materialized from both ships.

"If she says do something than you do it! Ryo-Ohki!" Washu commanded. The cabbit ship understood and rocketed at the GP cruiser turned mech. It was true that cabbit ships were amazingly adaptable and this was just another example of it as the ship seemingly turned liquid and formed a strange egg around the mech.

"What the hell's going on?" Ryoko asked warily.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before." The little scientist stated calmly. Everyone boggled at her.

"Wasn't it your suggestion?" Ayeka screamed. She simply nodded and cleaned out her ear, but other than that she didn't really seem to care.

I grow tired of waiting… Kagato said in a bored tone as he visibly began powering up. The solar energy he collected making him glow a bright gold color. What they didn't expect was that the egg would pick that moment to crack. It didn't simply crack so much as it exploded in a blazing light that startled even Kagato into silence. When the light cleared it looked as if the mech had grown three times its original size and had turned to the colors of Ryo-Ohki. Huge cabbit ears came off the head and it whipped out massive force claws. ARMS II was directly linked with Ryo-Ohki and Kikuko got to know exactly what the cabbit was. It would have been comical if the crew could have been watching from the outside, but they were on the inside of a mech succumbing to the Neko-ken.

"**Meow.**" The mech said simply. Kagato recoiled in shock as the "cat" crouched, claws curled out and ready to lash. The eyes of the mech were blazing red and he could feel the cat's ire, but he realized that he was still many times stronger. In the blink of the eye the cat was upon him, tearing at him with its powerful claws, but doing little more than making shallow cuts. A flare of solar power blew her off of him before a concentrated blast of power cracked her armor. The agile cat flew at him so fast that not even an after image was visible. The dragon tried to swat her with his fast and powerful tail, but the cat dodged rapidly, making the thing's own tail crack him in the rump. Kagato roared in pain only to find several chi blasts rapidly unloaded in his mouth. His jaws clamped shut and he swallowed convulsively. A massive explosion was heard from his stomach and he let out a smoking belch. The cat unleashed the Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken, claws extended, riddling the dragon's body with holes. That would have been enough to defeat most enemies, but this was hardly an ordinary enemy. The dragon regenerated from the damage almost instantly, his jaw curling up in a terrible parody of a grin.

Did you honestly think that would hurt? Pathetic fools! Kagato laughed until suddenly his lower jaw was torn off. His crystalline ichor spurting out uncontrollably until the cold of space froze his blood. Kagato tried to dislodge the ice that was growing rapidly and widening the wound, preventing it from healing. More chunks of flesh were ripped off much to the dragon's dismay. The cabbit mech was making quick work of the dragon but a blast of solar power knocked her loose. She shook her head as the Neko-ken subsided. Kagato snarled as solar heat erupted from his body, melting the ice, and leaving healed flesh in its wake. The dragon was well and truly pissed.

"This is it guys…We're toast…" Mihoshi whined as she watched the energy buildup with horrified fascination. There was no way they could beat this guy even with the incredible power they were generating. The scene was similar to prisoners on death row as they contemplated the outcome and prayed for the impossible. Cologne stroked the glass that held Kikuko and sighed before suddenly becoming aware of something. The mech was drawing the dragon into a lazy spiral. Her eyes went wide as she contemplated what was going to happen. The redhead was drawing in the cold of space even as Kagato was drawing in the heat of the sun! Two amazing forces were about to collide.

"Everyone hold onto something!" she cried even as she followed her own advice. Everyone scrambled to obey. Ryoko and Ayeka chose to hold onto Tenchi. Mihoshi huddled on the floor with Washu and she clung to the terminal. Suddenly even they could feel the buildup of forces as the mech began going faster and faster before throwing her fist up like an uppercut.

"**Hiryuu Shoten Ha!**" she cried as she unleashed the attack. The strange chi induced wind spun into existence around the dragon, acting upon the vacuum of space and turning into a funnel of astral cold. She cupped her hands together and began gathering in the cold of space into her palms before firing it off into the tornado causing the forces involved to explode outward in a surge of chi. Kagato resembled an ice sculpture done by someone with no talent for art. His blood had exploded out through his skin even his organs were speared through and visible. With a feral cry she summoned forth the full power of the Lighthawk Wings and channeled it through her palms before firing it through Kagato. The dragon seemed to lurch before collapsing in upon himself.

"We did it!" Tenchi exclaimed in relief.

"**Who did it?**" Kikuko asked in good humor. Everyone laughed with obvious relief until the alarms sounded again. Washu checked the instruments.

"What?" Ryoko asked at Washu's grim expression.

"Oh nothing…Just that we are at ground zero for a fusion explosion." she replied. It took several seconds for them to figure out where it was coming from but by then it was too late. The dead dragon exploded. catching them all at ground zero of the explosion. Kikuko's mech body was torn to shreds. Armageddon had come and wiped out everything in its path.

"I failed…" Kikuko thought even as everything turned to white. She unleashed all of ki in a last attempt to protect those who counted on her and felt her aura. It flared to life, but it was pure white. The white of pure ki. The girl had a moment to register it before everything went black.

Somewhere-

Wake up Kikuko… a gentle voice commanded. The redhead found herself floating in a strange dark place before a beautiful woman with blue hair. With a start, she realized that she wasn't wearing anything, but anything that would have shown was covered up by light.

"Where am I?" the girl asked.

This is a place between life and death. You have once again used all your chi. If you had a few months to recover it would have been fine, but as it stands you did not have enough time. Poor girl… I wish I could do more, but your last act has killed you.

"I don't care…What about Mihoshi, Cologne, and the others?" the worried redhead asked desperately.

They have survived. The same temporal disturbance that threw you into the past has rescued the others. In this case it seems to have erased Kagato's involvement and all those involved will believe it was a dream. All save the ones who care for you most. They will remember your tragic death. Tsunami sounded sad. Kikuko felt grief, but she knew she didn't grieve for herself. The goddess waved her hand and showed her the scene aboard the police cruiser. It was obviously happening right now. Mihoshi and Cologne (Cologne was sent through time?) were clinging to each other and crying. Entering the scene were Kei, Yuri, Toma, and Ranko. They were told of the events that happened. Kikuko could feel their grief join the other girls' and wept as well. She couldn't stand to cause them pain.

"What can I do? I can't leave them like this!" she sobbed. Her hands were clutched to her chest as her heart literally ached for them.

There is a way…but it will take all you have to succeed. It is a test taken by the royalty of Jurai to determine their worth. A side effect of this test is that it cures anything that may afflict you. In this case, death is an affliction.

"I'll do it." She said with resolve.

You should know that failure will mean you are not only dead, but that you will be lost for all time. They would not even be able to see you in the afterlife. However, you have accepted so I shall explain the test. It is a vision quest. You will be sent on a journey that will determine if you are fit to be reborn. I would not even be able to suggest this if you weren't half Alterrian. They are a sister race to the people of Jurai. I know you shall give it your all. Tsunami faded away shortly after her pronouncement. Kikuko took one last look at her friends.

"We'll be together again…soon." She said as the world spun and threw her through the looking glass.

Destination Unknown-

The alarm rang right in her ear, dispelling any further thoughts of sleep from the girl's mind. She reached out and clicked the off button before snuggling back under her warm comforter. With a sigh, she decided that maybe the bed was persuasive enough to coax her back to sleep, but then another voice had to ask: Where are you? With that she sat up, flinging the covers back, and scanned the room frantically. It looked like a typical teenage boy's room, but a quick feel let her know that she was female. She ran her hand distractedly through her hair and caught a look at her sleepwear. She was wearing a charcoal gray tank top and black panties. Her eyes found a Bon Jovi poster on the wall and she had to smile. A true classic of eighties rock, but a look at the poster beside that showed her Godsmack. Her eyes found a mixture of old and new, the room spoke to her. When she set her feet on the floor she noticed it was covered in clutter and dirty clothes.

"Whoa…This is trippy. Where the hell am I now?" she said then shuddered at the bad image it gave her. She didn't want to turn into Uncle Ryoga after all. Kikuko searched the room from top to bottom, hoping to find some clue as to what's going on. Her eyes strayed to the mirror and stopped. There in the mirror was a teenage girl that resembled her only vaguely. Her eyes were still vibrant blue, but her hair was a dark pink color with purple streaks going from each temple. When she opened her closet all she found inside was a school uniform that looked as if it had never been used before. She saw no reason to break with tradition considering that it looked like a pedophile's wet dream. It was a practically see through white button down, with a tie and a short skirt. The shoes on the shelf had a slight heel that would accentuate her legs. She felt bile come up and hastily swallowed it back down, yet that still left the problem of what to wear today. With that in mind she began rifling through the cleanest of her dirty laundry and had something to wear. She was wearing a black tee with Green Day on the front, blue jeans, and a blue jean jacket. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail with a cap on her head. She grabbed up a backpack in the bottom of the closet to find her school ID. Too bad it couldn't have been her name, even in part, but she had to admit it was a pretty name, even if it was gaijin. Madison Avenue. There was a joke in there somewhere but she couldn't figure it out for the life of her.

"Just another mystery to unravel…If I feel like it." She grinned as she checked out the house. It appeared that no one lived there but her until she found a note attached to the refrigerator. It was a note from her "mom" saying that she would be home later and telling her to behave at her new school.

"Furinkan High…? Oh shit… She couldn't give me a test in a new place? This ain't good at all…" she moaned in quiet agony. That was a name that haunted her dreams from all of the horror stories she has heard from her mom and dad. Her eyes fell on the clock and she realized that if she didn't leave now she was going to be late. With silent resignation she grabbed a carton of orange juice and a box of cereal and took off for school.

Furinkan High-

She growled as she took off towards the school, luckily she hadn't had a run in with cold water, but her luck could hardly hold out that long she thought. Assembled in front of the school was a group of boys dressed in various outfits proclaiming what club they represented. Even the swim team was there and that was just disgusting. They were eagerly awaiting someone but she clearly wasn't it. Still, she knew why they were there and decided to nip this thing in the bud. With a fierce cry she threw herself into them with abandon. She had to know how much her balance was off and how this body stacked up. Despite being an athletic body it was still merely human and alien feats she could perform were being hampered by her physiology. Still, being able to slow down things in the immediate vicinity with ki control alone was an impressive feat as she plowed through them. Her mental evaluation put her somewhere around her brother Hawk's level at this age. He never did quite like training. Still, it seemed to be enough.

"Who is she?" a girl whispered to her friend. There was a quiet hubbub around the school grounds as people tried figuring out who she was. Mighty Moron appeared, a.k.a. Tatewaki Kuno, and strode purposefully towards her.

"Beautiful damsel! Why dost thou fight senselessly? If thy desire for a date with my greatness is so imperative than I shall grant it! Come to me Oh noble pink-haired one!" he cried as he launched at her. At that moment her luck ran out and a girl who lost control of her water bottle splashed her. Kikuko, suddenly male, snarled viciously before popping him straight into the sky and out of the ballpark. With a grimace the neo boy took a careful look and then tore out the crotch of his underwear. He was certain no one had seen it because they're minds were still wrapped around the fact that the hot girl turned into a boy with **cold** water.

"I HATE BOYS!" the pain express was here and apparently it had plenty of room. Kikuko was glad that he wasn't a boy and then stopped. Oh hell she was! The neo boy suddenly found he was frantically dodging the irate girl. His eyes dropped onto the person accompanying Akane and blinked. It was her father. He couldn't let this continue. With a carefully measured punch he knocked the charging girl down, but before he could retreat, Ranma was in front of him and he was ready to kill.

"How dare you hit 'Kane?" he asked in a low voice. Blue eyes bored into blue eyes and he fell back a step. The neo boy groaned.

"Listen…I'm sorry 'bout this. I'm not really a boy! I'm a girl!" he tried to plead, but that didn't seem to penetrate his skull. It would have been great to be in a body without a curse, but despite what they thought, it bonded to the soul.

"Whaddya mean yer a girl?" the boy asked.

"Jusenkyo." He replied. Ranma blinked but a shake of his head told her that he was clearing his head.

"Too bad, but you did hit Akane…" the pigtailed wonder informed her regretfully before striking a ready stance. This guy could not be for real, Kikuko thought. Her dad would have asked why she hit her and not have just attacked. She didn't know what her dad had been like before he met her mom so she couldn't draw a proper conclusion, but the conclusion she did draw was that he was a pain.

"Do you wanna be late for class?" the neo boy tried to reason.

"School can wait." The displaced martial artist groaned. He searched for water quickly and saw the same water bottle. With a feral grin he snatched the bottle and splashed the boy in front of him. Ranma gasped in shock before growling angrily. There was still a little left in the bottle. Kikuko used some ki to heat it up before upending it over his head. The neo boy was now a girl again and the grin she was giving Ranma-chan sent shivers up the shorter girl's spine.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone. She brought in on herself by attacking me. A martial artist must always be prepared to answer for their actions so I hope you are too. I didn't want to fight." The pink-haired girl said as she dropped into a generic ready stance. It wouldn't be a good idea to use the Anything Goes Style but she had plenty of other martial arts. She would restrict herself to Sambo with a few aerial moves thrown in. Satisfied, she altered stance into a Sambo ready stance. Left foot forward, right foot back, and the knees bent. Left hand and right hand held before her, shifting from foot to foot and waiting for the first attack. Ranma's eyebrow twitched as she noticed the shift in stance and peered closely. Strangely enough this was a fighting style she didn't know.

"What the hell?" she asked herself, but her opponent heard her.

"It's called Sambo, developed by the Russian military by incorporating grappling moves, punches and kicks, and incorporating a few other styles." Kikuko told her. Ranma now understood why she didn't know it. Her Pop generally didn't hold the Russians in high regard where fighting was concerned so she didn't expect much. With a simple hand wave she invited total defeat. Her opponent moved so fast she may as well have been a blur, but a trained martial artist like Ranma easily read her moves and shifted to the side. It was a perfect dodge, almost. The pink-haired girl suddenly lashed out, grabbed a handful of her shirt, and whipped her into the ground so hard the pavement cracked before leaping back and regaining her ready stance. The startled redhead managed to get back to her feet, her tortured back screaming in protest, before channeling her ki into healing. She watched her opponent carefully as she alleviated the worst of the pain, but the girl didn't even move an inch.

"Heh…Not too shabby! Nothin' compared to the Anything Goes Style though…" she scoffed as she straightened up. If she was expecting to infuriate her opponent then she had another thing coming. Kikuko simply smirked.

"The name's Madison by the way. Practitioner of Sambo exclusively. Pretty similar to Anything Goes as a mater of fact." She stated in a dry tone that blatantly put down Ranma's school. The neo girl in front of her looked as if she was about to go nuclear until she visibly calmed herself down, but the red aura that still hovered around her let Kikuko know that at least the Hiryuu Shoten Ha was impossible now, unless she wanted to do it, but that wouldn't be wise.

"Is that so? Let me show you a few things!" Ranma moved so fast that the air warped around her. If there was any doubt that this was her dad then it was dispelled with that move. Her fists were held low before she unleashed a full power Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken to rapidly pummel her opponent into submission.

Kikuko waited until the very last second to use her trump card. It was the perfect defense against her father's attack. The girl struck the ground with her fist before bouncing up and flipping backwards away from the attack. At the apex of her leap she fired an invisible wave of energy that struck the girl and hurled her away like a leaf in the wind. Ranma hit the ground, once again cracking the pavement, but due to the spin on the attack this time she plowed her face into the dirt. It was with a great deal more difficulty that she got up and reentered her stance.

"O-okay…That's pretty good…but still not enough to beat me…" she gasped painfully. Kikuko frowned. Was this happening when her dad first reached the Tendo's or a while after? If this was when he first got there then she was going to hard on her. The fact that the redhead before her looked like she was about to cry from pain told her that she had overestimated badly. She was getting ready to say something when a hail of bandannas erupted from out of nowhere and bowled Ranma over with sharp weapons. The pigtailed girl hit the ground with numerous shallow cuts crisscrossing her body.

"Oh shit…" she muttered.

"Ranma! Because of you I have seen Hell! Prepare to die!" Ryoga cried as he leapt down from out of nowhere and grinned at Kikuko.

"Thank you for this, but after I deal with him you may want to leave." He said. Akane suddenly ran over to Ranma in concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked frantically.

"No 'm not you uncute tomboy…" the injured redhead muttered. The resounding thud of mallet meeting flesh made the displaced girl cringe.

"What the hell did you do that for? She's already injured enough! This ends now…Either you two back away or I'll be addin' some skulls to my trophy wall." She declared as she dropped back into a ready stance. The two of them didn't even seem to care. She had no choice. Ryoga was slowly readying his umbrella and Akane was fuming.

"Oh Kami forgive me…" she silently prayed as she brought her hands together and gathered her anger into a deep purple sphere, almost black, and prepared to fire.

"Akane watch out!" Nabiki suddenly called down from the third floor. The girl in question spun around in time to see the growing ball of malevolence. She was pretty sure that even someone of her skills wouldn't survive being hit by that and wisely stepped out of the way. Ryoga turned to look as well and froze in horror as he registered the feelings used to make that…thing. It did not look healthy.

"I will only say this **once**. Stop what you are doing or I will roll over you like a steamroller. So don't push me!" Kikuko cried as she aimed the deadly sphere squarely on Ryoga. She knew he would give up, he's not that stupid…

"No one tells me what to do! Shishi Hokodan!" he shouted as his ball of depression chi rocketed towards her. Startled, the girl released the anger blast at the oncoming attack. Since the two emotions were compatible, they merged, but since Kikuko's was stronger…

"Wow…Good air time…" the pink-haired girl mused as Ryoga flew off into the distance. Akane was staring at the girl with something close to fear. She was mentally comparing this girl to Cologne, but even that didn't seem like a close enough estimate. So absorbed was she in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Kikuko step past her and scoop the wounded redhead gently into her arms.

"What do you think you're doing with my fiancé?" Akane demanded, anger warring out over common sense.

"…Shut…up…you…**BITCH**!" Kikuko roared in a vast ki enhanced voice that shattered the windows of the school and cracked the concrete walls. With a vicious snarl, she took off running along the rooftops. Hopefully Dr. Tofu was still here, but in the meantime she used her own ki to restore the depleted girl. Too bad her dad had passed out, but maybe it was for the best.

The devastation she left in her wake was so bad that they had to cancel school for the rest of the day. Students were wandering aimlessly in the aftermath of The Shout as they tried to focus their scrambled senses. The only one who was thinking clearly right now was Akane. She sat against the school with her eyes unseeing, but clearly she was thinking. One thing ran through her mind.

"I am Revi."

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Mwahahahahaha! To those of you who have enjoyed reading this story, fear not for I won't give it up entirely, but other stories are in my mind right now. That's all for now! Ja ne!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I now own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Tenchi Muyo, and Dirty Pair Flash! Ahahahahhahaha! Oh hello doctor…time for my medicine now?

Author's Notes: New chapter ready to go where many fics have gone before…and where many don't dare to tread. The last time we left it off Revi awakened and Kikuko left a huge mess behind her. What a way to start a test, ne? With that in mind I bring to you:

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 10

Dr. Tofu's clinic was open when she arrived and for that she was eternally grateful. The pink-haired girl went to dart inside when a chain stuck in the ground in front of her. She knew who it was without even looking and she also knew what Uncle Mousse was there for. It was time for serious evasive maneuvers. More chains rocketed down, but the girl quickly danced around them. She could feel him growing more and more frustrated as the misses just kept on coming. Kikuko took a gamble and dived through the door, quickly getting her feet under her to avoid jarring the severely injured girl. Kasumi appeared to be the receptionist, much to Kikuko's shock, but that didn't last long as the Chinese boy appeared in the doorway.

"Who are you to protect Saotome?" he demanded.

"My name's Ki-uh…Madison Avenue and I won't let you hurt him." She proclaimed.

"Oh my…another fiancée for Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

"Nope. Just a concerned citizen. Now excuse me cuz I need to teach this guy some manners. Alright Peking Duck, let's rumble!" Kikuko exclaimed as she dropped into a Sambo ready stance, weaving her hands menacingly. Mousse threw his chains right at her, but she waved her hands fluidly, one trailing up and the other trailing down before a ball of yellowish ki fired out. The ki ball drew the chains to it before smashing into the startled martial artist and throwing him out into the street.

"What was that…?" he asked in confusion as he blearily got to his feet.

"That is what I call Serpent Ball." She weaved her hands again and fired another one, but this time the myopic boy leapt over it as he released a veritable storm of metal projectiles. Kikuko squeaked in alarm as she recognized the pattern. She quickly dived in and out of the attack before Mousse released his Wide Fire ki attack. Wide Fire was a blast of white-hot ki that would strike an area while the shuriken pinned the target in place, but the inevitable conclusion never came, instead a swan-shaped training potty flew down and smacked her in the head. The Displaced Girl grabbed her head in shock. It didn't hurt but it did surprise her. Mousse quickly took the chance to ensnare her in chains so that he could dispose of his rival better, but the girl wasn't following the script. She quickly set to spinning, force waves erupting from her body, and deflecting the chains. With a fierce "Kiyah!" a cyclone of fire chi burst forth from her body. Mousse, in a panic, threw several bombs at her, but could only stare in shock as the girl absorbed the blasts. She finished the spin with a powerful upward swing, fire lancing from her fist into Mousse's chest before hurling him away with explosive results.

"Why didn't you use the Wide Fire?" she asked in confusion.

"Wide Fire? What…is that…?" Mousse asked groggily. With a start, she realized that she was making assumptions based on her own time. Before she could say to forget it, he passed out. There was too great a chance that she would slip up again so it was with that thought that she quickly ran home.

-Avenue Residence-

Kikuko silently slipped through the door as quiet as smoke and took her shoes off. Her senses were telling her that someone was here and she didn't want to alert them to her presence. A small noise was heard behind her and spun around in alarm to see a cat staring up at her. It was a cute little thing with tiger stripes and red fur. She scooped up the little creature and scratched her behind the ears after a quick look told her that it was female. Kikuko purred right along with the cat in her arms. So preoccupied with what she was doing that she failed to notice when the person crept up behind her.

"Madison sweetheart. Why aren't you wearing your uniform?" a pleasant voice asked from behind her. Kikuko spun around quickly, the cat clinging to her out of surprise, and gaped at the woman in front of her. She was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and jade eyes. Her outfit consisted of a sweatshirt and jeans, with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. The woman appeared much too young to have a daughter her age.

"Well I…that is…it was so late that I…simply…forgot…" Kikuko stammered out as if she was telling this to her own mother. The girl's "mother" suddenly looked less than pleasant.

"What a stupid child! I told you to set your damn alarm and you can't even follow that simple instruction? Go to your room and get ready for dinner. I expect it to be on the table by six o'clock." She said before wandering into the dining room. The clink of glass could be heard and fluid sloshing. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on, but the body's natural instinct was to run away to her room for a brief reprieve.

"Wh-what's going on? I-I've never been this afraid of someone…" Kikuko found herself beginning to cry as her heart ached. She wanted to go home, but she had to do this or she couldn't go back. Her cat licked her face, probably to get at the taste of the salt her tears left behind, but it was comforting nonetheless. The pink-haired girl removed her jacket and her hat. She checked the clock and groaned. Apparently her business with Mousse had taken longer than she thought because the clock was saying that it was just after five. To avoid having that woman harangue her she would need to do everything she said. After all, if she did everything right, she couldn't complain.

-Later-

Kikuko was proud of herself. She knew she would never be as good a cook as Grandma, Kasumi, or her own mother, but this was probably the best she had ever done. Apparently this house ran on Western style food and that was where she excelled. She made chicken-fried steak with homemade mashed potatoes, plenty of butter and made with cream, homemade gravy, and lemon pepper green beans. The desert was going to be a fudge pie with whipped cream. She guessed that it was just her and the woman so the amount she made should cover the two of them, with a third helping's worth made in case they were a little more hungry or someone else showed up. A classic Kasumi idea.

"You have five minutes to get dinner out here!" the angry one cried out. With dexterity born of long hours of training, she managed to balance all the dishes and get them out to the table without dropping a single plate. "Mother" sat watching as she arranged everything on the table artistically.

"I-I hope you enjoy it." Kikuko said meekly. She wanted to hurl and the servile tone to her voice, but she was curious about why she was acting like this. The woman uncovered the dish with the chicken-fried steak and stared at it blankly. It resembled the few moments before a natural disaster struck. Her face turned blotchy and reddened noticeably. Something told the girl that this would be a bad one. Her eyes were screwed up tight.

"I wanted beef tonight. Not chicken. Beef! Are you that stupid that you can't even remember that much? You know, sometimes I wonder why I let you live and didn't just drown you when I had the chance! It would have made my life so much easier!" she ranted. Kikuko tried to explain, but nothing came out. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't seem to find the air to speak. She was geared up for an apology, but grabbed hold of the reins of her brain and said what was on her mind.

"That is beef. It's a dish called chicken-fried steak so I don't see why you're getting so worked up…about…it…" she trailed off lamely as her mother glared at her, but speared on of the steaks and set it on her plate. The woman cut into it and stared at it for a good minute before finally relenting.

"Fine. You didn't totally screw up." She admitted grudgingly and served herself. After a long moment, Kikuko sat down and served herself as well. Dinner passed in silence with neither party speaking nor giving ground. It was a somber affair that thankfully ended without a hitch. The pink-haired girl was grateful that it had gone as well as it had and hurried to clear the table. She had reached the door to the kitchen before she was stopped.

"Bring me a beer and do your homework." The woman ordered. Grateful for the reprieve, she set the dishes in the sink and cleaned them at Amaguriken speed before snagging a beer from the fridge and taking it out to her mother. The woman sneered at her as she yanked the bottle from her hand. When Kikuko turned to leave, the woman slapped her on the ass before laughing like the cruel idiot she was. The humiliated girl ran upstairs and flung herself on the bed. She sobbed into the pillow at the injustice of it all.

"Why can't I fight her? Why?" she knew that wasn't simply a matter of a martial artist's duty not to harm the weak, but something deeper and more psychological. The fury welled up inside her chest and threatened to break out in a storm of sharp blades, but it was ruthlessly crushed back down to where it belonged. Anger could be a powerful tool, but this kind of anger could get someone killed. In between one thought and the next, the emotionally exhausted girl fell asleep.

-2:35 am-

A martial artist's instincts are finely honed from a young age to be their most powerful weapon. A good punch was nothing without the instincts to use it and Kikuko was the best of her generation. She felt more than heard her door open. The stumbling steps accompanied by the open door signified an intoxicated person. Her gut clenched for reasons she couldn't quite place before she felt someone settle on her bed. A slurred voice giggled a little as a hand gently stroked her back. She felt herself beginning to tremble as if from some long standing fear and realized with a start that it was the same feeling her dad had just before the Neko-ken.

"My pretty little baby…" the woman cooed softly as she lay down on top of her. Kikuko squirmed but a sharp rap to the back of the head silenced her. Rough hands seized her and rolled her over, pinning her wrists with a leer. The smell of alcohol could clearly be smelled on her breath. It was overpowering. The weight, the terror, the stench of alcohol, and the feeling of powerlessness. With a terrified scream, she hurled her assailant off of her and slammed her into the wall. Kikuko was crying as she surveyed the damage. All she had were the clothes on her back, but she knew she couldn't stay there. The woman was already moving to get off the floor. Due to inebriation she wouldn't be able to understand the danger she was in. She tried to get the window open, but the latch kept slipping through panicked fingers. With an animalistic moan she blew the window out with force wave many times stronger than it needed to be and leapt to the next rooftop over. The terrified girl had no idea where she was going or of anything that was going on. Her instincts screamed at her to run and she obeyed. A small figure launched itself at her and grabbed hold of her bosom eliciting a terrified shriek and another round of sobs.

"Don't hurt me! Please please please please…" she begged as she fell to her knees. The little figure bounced off, eyes widening before a horrible smile lit up his face. Whoever tortured this girl was truly a master of their art and Happosai respected masters. As he approached, another diminutive figure flew through the air and ricocheted off of his head before dropping into a ready stance. Cologne, Matriarch and Elder of the Chinese Amazons was investigating the distorted chi only to find this pervert tormenting the poor child. It was with great pleasure that she prepared to beat him into submission.

"Back off you old mummy! This little honey is mine!" he exclaimed even as he dropped into a ready stance too. The old woman merely glared in utter hatred at him. Something in that gaze told him that he was in for a whole world of hurt, that opinion was only reinforced when Ranma showed up to apparently do battle as well.

"Hey ya old freak! What didja do to her?" the black-haired boy snarled so low that it sounded like a cat's growl. A very big cat's growl. The perverted Grandmaster did not feel like participating in a game of pound the pervert and did the only sensible thing: he ran like a bat out of hell. With that taken care of, Cologne approached the girl huddling on the rooftop. She reached her hand out, but the girl pulled away from her. After what she had gone through it was unexpected that when Ranma walked up to her and kneeled down, the girl latched onto him like he was a life preserver and she was drowning. The boy panicked.

"Hold her Son-in-Law. She needs to be comforted and apparently she wants you to do it." The elder told him. With a determined nod, and a visible steeling of his nerves, he held her. Something nagged at the back of his mind as he held her. Her pink hair was a dead giveaway and with a start he recognized her.

"You're that girl from earlier…What happened to you?" he whispered softly. The girl really had nothing to say. Acting on impulse, and a strange feeling of protectiveness, he picked her up as if she were a baby. The startled matriarch suddenly realized why the aura felt so familiar. The pig-tailed wonder in front of her had that same feeling of power only she seemed to be much stronger.

"Where are you going?" she inquired as she noticed the boy tensed to jump.

"Back to the Tendo's. If anybody comes around looking for her I'll smash them to a pulp." The boy said in a voice that was colder than the Soul of Ice. The old woman shivered at the tone and wisely kept her mouth shut even as she watched the pigtailed enigma that was Ranma leap back towards home.

-The Tendo-ke-

Ranma was glad that he couldn't sleep for once since it led him out into the night in time to find her. The girl was curled up in a futon he had dragged into the dojo. Her eyes followed every move he made, the trust in her eyes painful to look at. If he had anything to compare it to than he would have to say it was like a child and their parents. What had made her so scared? According to Kasumi she had taken on Mousse and beat him senseless. Hiroshi and Daisuke had said that she took out Ryoga and shattered everything with a scream. If she could do all that than how could she be scared? C-c-c-cats not withstanding, he wasn't afraid of anything.

"Ranma! What are you doing in here?" Akane's voice broke the quiet atmosphere with an anger-laced shout. The girl in the futon cried out in alarm at the harsh voice and grabbed his hand.

"Shhhh…It's ok…Nothing's wrong. She's just loud." He soothed. Dormant feelings of kindness and compassion were awakening. She looked so small and helpless that he couldn't help but want to protect her.

"Who's there you baka pervert?" the girl inquired aggressively as she strode into the dojo. Her eyes fell on the girl laying in the futon and the old anger came back. She flexed her fingers aggressively as the mallet appeared in her hand. Before she could get the mallet up, Ranma pierced her with a glare that would have killed a lesser man. In this case, it just severely rattled the violent girl. The mallet vanished as she realized how close she came to being another notch on Ranma's belt. He may not like to hit girls, but that didn't stop him from fighting for a cause.

"Get Kasumi, please." Ranma ordered. It was strangely polite for him, but all she could see were flames. Before she could say something that she would regret later, Akane turned around and walked out of the dojo. He looked back to the traumatized girl and say her eyes brightening.

"We'll help ya as best as we can." He assured her. The girl nodded and began to lightly doze. She drew in a deep breath as Kasumi entered the dojo, and went to sleep. The pigtailed boy breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed she was sleeping peacefully.

"Ranma-kun?" the gentle girl inquired softly. "Akane said you needed to see me." She explained when he turned to look at her.

"I dunno what to do. She helped me out earlier but somethin' is seriously scaring her. Whatever it was I don't think it had anythin' to do with Happosai. No, she seemed freaked out about something other than that." Ranma said. Kasumi bit her lip and nodded. It was agreed that she would stay until they found out what was wrong. Ranma carried the girl up to Kasumi's room as per her suggestion and laid her down on the bed. With that, he left the room, and the girl to Kasumi.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Short chapter, but I wanted to know what you thought of the way the story was moving. I know it seems that she's a bit out of character based on what you know, but what if she was in another body and that it wasn't just created for her? Hope you enjoy the next chapter! Ja ne!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Dirty Pair Flash, or Tenchi Muyo.

Author's Notes: No my friends, you are not dreaming. I have decided to continue this story as well as FLH so forgive me if updates for it come slower now. I reread the whole series thus far and I am a little ashamed with myself for the irregular pacing. I vow to try not to hurry too much and keep it flowing nicely. For those of you who remember, our poor heroine Kikuko can't seem to get a break. Just when she's reunited with her friend Mihoshi, a daring sacrifice forces her apart from her friends once again. Life is so unfair as if the will of the author. Also, I am not retelling the Ranma the Mighty story with Kikuko in it if anyone was wondering. I just felt it would be interesting to explain where Revi had finally taken control. Great trauma of any kind could have caused the snap so Kikuko hadn't really changed history. If there are no objections (and I care not if there are) let's get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 11

The bright light shining in from the outside cast a golden glow over the bedroom. It was a truly gorgeous day already with the morning usually punctuated by cries of violence and mayhem as the two Saotome men fought tooth and bail against one another in a display of acrobatic artistry. However, this particular morning was silent. Devoid of the battles that usually graced such beautiful days. The reason for this was that one of the participants was sitting beside Kasumi's bed, lost in thought. The eldest Tendo girl was downstairs making breakfast and getting everything ready for the day so she wasn't the focus of his thoughts. His blue eyes looked to the girl lying in Kasumi's bed with a look of angelic peace on her face. The girl was obviously a gaijin and a pretty one at that, but she seemed strangely artificial. When he saw her fight the previous day she was a monster of brutal power that fought like a true martial artist should, with grace and control. He had to admit that anyone who could knock Ryoga into the stratosphere was not someone to mess with. But what got to him was how scared she was the night before. She was almost paralyzed with fear and that bothered him.

"What could give a girl like you a scare that bad? You're a martial artist and definitely everything that my Pops says girls ain't. Yer strong and smart so what happened?" he asked out loud. When he noticed her stirring, it took all his self control not to run for the hills in fear of a mallet. He laughed softly as he realized that his brain was assessing her by Akane protocols. If it moved, squish it. If it was perverted, squish it. Sometimes it felt like: It it's Ranma, squish it.

"Mmmm….?" The girl moaned softly from the covers as she fought to remain asleep, but when the gentle laughter penetrated her brain, she opened her eyes fast. She looked panicked until she noticed Ranma and visibly relaxed. The pigtailed boy tried to look as harmless as possible but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. The strange gaijin latched onto him with both arms, bawling her eyes out. He tried not to panic and remember what Cologne told him to do in this situation. Tentatively, he hugged her in return. Instead of easing her sobs, it seemed to make them worse. The only thing he could think of doing was simply riding out the tears and bide his time to ask questions.

-Kikuko's POV-

The sensation of waking up in a strange bed was turning into a familiar feeling. The displaced girl was awakened by a gentle laugh that warmed her soul. It was her father's laugh. The kind man who loved her and her siblings with all his heart. She had to forcibly restrain herself from glomping the teenage boy and calling him Daddy because it wasn't him. Not yet anyway. Her eyes took in his confused but caring look as well as internally noticing how much pain she was in.

'Note to self, you are not a half Alterrian with godlike ki reserves.' She thought ruefully before the events from the day before hit her like a ton of bricks. The school day hadn't been bad, but hell was visited upon her the minute she walked in the door at "home". That woman who claimed she was her mother was a monster! With a wail, she found her arms wrapping around the pigtailed martial artist so tightly that his ribs creaked, but her tears wouldn't let up. When he placed his arms around her, it only served to wedge open the floodgates further. In anguish, she realized that this wasn't a constructed body but a real girl with a real history. Her "mother" had done this before, but unlike Kikuko, poor Madison didn't have the strength to fight back. It was a terrible sensation to know you're powerless and there was no one more powerless than Madison.

"I want my Daddy!" she couldn't help but wail into his chest, feeling her future father's strong arms hold her tighter. What she could dimly tell was that he seemed to be growing angry. Not angry like "I stubbed my toe" but a menace that rivaled Ryoga on his worst day. She looked up, choking back her tears to see his eyes screwed shut with his jaw clenched. His aura was threatening to break into the visible spectrum. He seemed to settle down a little but he was no less intense.

"What happened?" he asked when he realized the girl had stopped crying. The girl was eerily silent, staring up at him with such trust that it was painful to look at. It was the kind of look reserved for children with their parents, not for two relative strangers. Madison, as he read in her wallet, took a long, shuddering breath before telling her tale. For the pigtailed boy's sanity she left out who she "really" was and left it at that. When she finished relating her tale, she didn't expect what happened next as Ranma abruptly stood, dumping her back completely onto the bed, and storming out. The look of disgust on his face cut right through her.

"Why is he disgusted with me? I-I couldn't help it…I couldn't…" the wounded girl murmured to herself. After several minutes, the girl climbed out of bed, still dressed in her clothes from the day before, and left the room to question Ranma.

-Nabiki's room-

The resident mercenary of the house was just getting up and checking her surveillance equipment when Ranma knocked on the door. The girl was halfway tempted to tell him to go away, but with the unusual noises from the dojo last night she invited him in. Something told her that the Saotome boy was in no mood for games. Maybe it was the look of intense anger on his face that told her to keep her teasing to a minimum.

"What can I do for you, Saotome?" she asked, sounding far more alert than usual this early. What few people realized was that the coffee just tasted good, it wasn't needed to wake her up.

"I need ya to do me a favor and price is no object. Ya can shoot my girl-half naked if ya want." He practically growled out. Nabiki blinked in astonishment, any lingering thoughts of sleep banished by what he just said. Did he just say what she thought he said? After replaying the last few minutes, she realized it wasn't a dream. Something needed her help so badly that he would offer that.

"Tell me what you need and we'll talk about it." The girl said as her mask slipped back in place, but her lingering astonishment remained. The gender bender martial artist sat down, uninvited, on her bed with a growl of fury. She could faintly make out his mantra of "Soul of Ice" as he got his temper under control.

"I need information about Madison Avenue, the new girl in school, and about her Mom." He finally said.

"Why? Did they get stiffed by your father? It's not that unusual you know…" she said in a faintly teasing tone until his furious hiss left her breathless.

"No way…if it was I'd kill the old freak myself. I can't do anything about this cuz this ain't a martial arts match or some stupid shit like that. This is serious and I need information." He told her with the voice of a man hanging onto his anger by a hair.

"S-sorry but I need to know what to look for…" Nabiki said, clearly unnerved.

"Reports of abuse, any kind at all and find out where her dad is." The pigtailed boy said in a voice so low she had to strain to hear it. The middle girl's eyes widened to the size of saucers as her imagination filled in what wasn't said. If she knew how close her images were to the truth she would have given in to the urge to vomit that she could barely suppress.

"I…see Saotome. Fine, get out of here and let me see what I can do. As for payment…" she said to Ranma as she turned her back towards her computer.

"Make sure she stays safe."

-Outside Nabiki's room-

Akane was growing angrier by the minute. She had heard through her sister's door about her fiancé wanting to know more about the stupid little whore who just started in their school. If that girl was here she would have a few words with her that was for sure! The sound of a hesitant footfall alerted her to someone's approach. She whirled about in time to face the target of her anger only to falter. The girl before her looked like hell. She seemed barely able to stand, leaning against the wall for support. Her eyes were red and puffy as if from an extended period of crying. This was not the girl from yesterday. She seemed too broken to be the Madison that launched Ryoga into LEO.

"Uh…Madison?" Akane asked with a hint of worry. It was hard to mad at the girl when she obviously looked like death warmed over. She didn't seem to be entirely with it, hugging her tightly as if to ward off a non-existent chill. It was no surprise when the girl's next step dumped her unceremoniously on the floor of the hallway. The youngest Tendo was at her side in an instant, an arm around her shoulders to support her. Madison's eyes looked to Akane blankly causing the girl to almost recoil in shock. This was not the girl that fought her only the day before. Something inside of the girl began to shriek at her just from the dead gaze she was receiving.

"…Akane?" the girl inquired in a small little voice. Kikuko would have kicked herself for sounding so weak if it wasn't obvious that the girl she was had every reason to be this way. Apparently this was Madison's natural self and her own confidence had projected itself onto her "host". Could this have been the quest she was sent on? To strengthen this girl and get her away from her abusive mother? So far, she must be doing alright. At least the girl hoped so.

"Yes, I'm Akane. What happened if you don't mind me asking?" the youngest Tendo asked gently. The girl gave her a suddenly wary look but nodded to herself before launching into everything she could remember. By the time she was done, Akane looked sick to her stomach as if someone had force-fed her some of her own cooking. At the moment that she would have probed more, Ranma exited Nabiki's room. The look on his face was at first thunderous before settling into a look of concern. The pigtailed boy was still uncomfortable with emotions but now was not the time to hide his kind nature.

"What are you doing out of bed?" he asked the girl gently as he and Akane helped her stand up. For reasons he couldn't explain, when the girl suddenly clung to both he and his betrothed it brought up a well of emotions.

"I-I didn't want to be alone…" Kikuko (as Madison) said. Dimly she could detect the real Madison as she spoke. Mentally she told the girl that everything would be alright, but the feeling of derision and disbelief she received in return was understandable. Normally Akane would be in "Pound the Pervert" mode but this was definitely not the time for that. However another little voice was telling her it was the perfect time, but that one was too quiet to hear thankfully.

"Everyone breakfast!" Kasumi caroled up the stairs cheerfully. The teens looked at one another for another long minute before adjourning to the breakfast table. It would be a crime to let Kasumi's breakfast get cold.

-Downstairs-

It was a rather tense affair at the breakfast table that greeted the emotionally fragile girl. Kikuko was just glad that no questions were being directed at her and that Ranma was keeping the panda from stealing her food. The more she turned her problems over in her mind the more they refused to resolve themselves. So engrossed in her own thoughts, she failed to realize as she slipped into a light trance state, the result of years of training that was to help her sort out her problems. What she saw inside was her own body clothed in her father's favorite clothing. The silk shirt and black kung fu pants felt like an old friend. Her "eyes" wandered over the room she was in and noticed it to be the dojo. There was a figure sitting in the center of the floor with her legs curled up to her chest, hugging them close.

"Hello?" she inquired of the other person in her dreamscape. The girl refused to budge, but she did show signs of acknowledgement. As Kikuko stepped closer, she felt her form shift into that of Madison's mother causing the girl to whimper in terror. It didn't take a genius to figure out the girl was Madison, but why did she become this bitch? It wouldn't do at all. With sheer force of will, she reverted to her normal form.

"G-go away…" Madison said, quite clearly despite her face being buried in her knees.

"You know I can't do that. If I leave you then what will happen? You need help and right about now I'm the best hope you got." Kikuko said to the distraught girl. She noticed as her "soul mate" lifted her face to look at the redhead with a distrustful look.

"Some hope you are. So far all that's been accomplished is you running away from home. It solved the immediate problem but what about when she comes for us, huh? Have you even thought that far?" the girl asked peevishly.

"Sure I have. How can she possibly know it's you if we're in guy form? Ya gotta admit that's one advantage to having me around." The other girl said with a smile. Her reluctant partner blinked in astonishment at her.

"You're right. It would be impossible to recognize me like that. I guess you can think." Madison said with a smile as well.

"Also, from what I've gathered about how my…er…how "Ranma" reacted that he went to Nabiki to get her involved. If anyone can help you it would be Nabiki. Is your Dad in the picture?" Kikuko asked as she sat across from Madison, unconsciously still eating in the real world.

"Mom took me away from him when I was younger. She got custody despite being an unloving bitch under that stupid "tender years" thing American's have. It made it easy for my mom to get me since all she had to do was prove to the courts she was a good parent and I had no idea she was a bad one." The girl said with disgust. There was definitely something wrong with that, the redhead realized. It fit like Grandpa Genma in a tube top, meaning not at all.

"No, that makes no sense whatsoever. I'm not saying you're lying but this kind of thing is hard to cover up especially if the father is better suited than the mother. I think you got the bum end of the steer. Since law enforcement is what I normally do for a living I am familiar with such things. America is somewhat closer to Galactic Law if that makes any sense probably because they try to think outside the box." Kikuko told her thoughtfully.

"Can we change forms soon? The less time spent as a girl the better if it means mom can't find me." Madison said. At first it was disturbing how easily she took to the idea, but after remembering some of "Mom's" tender affection it made sense. Who knew the girl would get her wish sooner than expected?

splash

The wet girl (now boy) spluttered in shock as he took note of the changes wrought on his body. The clothes had torn more from the sudden growth but what she noticed today was that his guy form wasn't very muscular. He looked to Akane with a raised eyebrow as she guiltily set down her glass. Strangely, Kikuko felt more like herself in the male body which would bear looking into as disturbing as the thought was.

"S-sorry…I was trying to tell you it was time for school." Akane said as her cheeks flushed.

"That would not be a good idea sis. I think that Madison should stay here until we get this sorted out." Nabiki said. Genma panda wished that it was him with the boy curse while Soun merely read his newspaper, not crying today. He had no reason to cry today since it seemed his Prozac was finally kicking in.

"Uh…we'll bring you your homework so ya don't fall behind." Ranma mumbled before being practically dragged out of the house by his fiancée. He would never understand just why he was feeling so damn protective.

"Would you help me clear the table Madison?" Kasumi asked sweetly. When the eldest girl asks you for a favor it just doesn't seem right to refuse. The gender bended girl gathered the dishes and carried them out to the kitchen. The Displaced Saotome decided that today was going to be a great day.

-Later-

In the dojo was where the reluctant fiancés found their houseguest. She was blurring through several martial arts styles with a look of intense concentration on her face. Off to the side stood Kasumi holding a bucket of cold water. At a prearranged signal, the water hit the girl turning her into a him and causing the kata to ratchet up several notches. Judging by the sweat pouring off of him he must have been at it for hourse. If they knew that Kikuko was teaching her "inner self" to fight as well they might have been more startled, but such was Nerima. Ranma made his presence known as the practice wound down.

"Oh…hi guys." The neo-boy said with a shy smile as he wiped off with the towel Kasumi provided.

"That was a lot of fun. Thank you Madison-kun." The Tendo matriarch said with a smile before heading into the house.

"Hey it looks like you're doing better." Ranma said artlessly before being whacked upside the side by Akane.

"We have some good news." Akane said with a smile. At the boy's inquiring expression she elaborated,

"Nabiki found your dad. Apparently he came to Japan on a tip and is staying at a Best Western in the center of town. His name is Derek Gains. Not surprisingly, your mom changed your name to Avenue to avoid him. You can go to your dad now!" Akane exclaimed enthusiastically. Madison thought to Kikuko 'This is too easy.' while the redhead chided her for being pessimistic.

'Try thinking positive for once.' She thought back.

She really should learn to listen more.

-At the Best Western-

Kikuko tugged at the collar of the silk shirt he was wearing. It was one that Ranma didn't wear much anymore since he outgrew it. The shirt was black with a gold dragon embroidered on the front and the blue jeans were his from the day before since apparently Madison liked baggy jeans. Lucky him because he didn't want to wear some else's pants if it could be avoided. According to Nabiki, Dad should be up on the third floor. First order of business was to make it across the lobby without being seen. Upon engaging the Umi-Sen-Ken it became laughably easy. Having god-like ki reserves had its distinct advantages. It wasn't that he was worried about being accosted by hotel personnel, it was the thought he might accidentally run into Mom that bothered him. He may have been in guy-type but that mattered little to his frayed nerves.

"Get a grip Kiku, this is no different than sneaking candy from Daddy when you were three. Just relax because there's a pair of warm arms waiting to make us safe." he told himself and his current passenger. He grinned as he finessed his way to the elevator easily and made sure he was the only one aboard before pushing three. After disengaging the cloaking technique, he poured hot water from a small packet onto his hand triggering the change back to a girl. The jeans barely slid far and her clothes were largely undisturbed. After affixing Chinese sticks in her hair to look nice she squashed down her growing uneasiness.

Upon reaching the third floor is when disaster struck. Standing in the hallway was her mother with a man she never saw before engaged in a passionate embrace. Something bad was going down if her instincts were to be trusted. Without any warning whatsoever, a knife flashed out from behind the sadistic woman's back and went right for the unprotected man's neck! Kikuko didn't think, just acted as her smaller frame shot forward as the air warped around her. The crest of distorted air slammed the woman and her paramour, sprawling them along the hallway with the knife in plain sight. The man was staring at the girl as she assessed the situation.

"What's going on?" he asked in a daze before taking notice of the knife that the blonde woman was scrabbling for only to find her efforts thwarted by a foot descending with brutal efficiency on her hand. The crack as bones popped sounded like gunshots in the stillness.

"Hey Mom. I didn't expect to find out you were a murderer as well as a molester. Funny little thing this world is, huh?" Kikuko said in a voice so devoid of warmth it could have been liquid nitrogen.

"J-Jessica? What is going on? I thought you wanted to reconcile?" the man asked as he got to his feet slowly, his legs felt wobbly from the sudden rush.

"You little whore! How could you hurt your Mommy like this?" the woman hissed in pain and spite, clutching her ruined hand to her chest.

"Madison? Why would you hurt your mother?" the man asked. Apparently this prize-winner was her father. His aura felt weak and it was clear he was just shy of being stupid. He was an ineffectual man that would have been an even worse father. The courts had picked her mom over him, however, which made her wonder who the worst monster was.

"I came to find my Dad but obviously you're not him. If either one of you comes after me I'll scream rape and I bet they'd find evidence of it too. Assholes." The girl spat before walking away from the pathetic little scene. Kikuko could feel Madison's hope shriveling inside her chest with each step and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. As she entered the elevator, a notion hit her. A fantastic and wild notion, but it was better than nothing.

'What are you thinking?' Madison asked silently.

"I think I know what we can do." Kikuko said out loud, a smile spreading across her face.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: I regret to inform all of you that I will be dividing my attention between two stories but I hope you'll forgive me. After all the time without an update I hope this is a satisfactory addition to the series. Reviews and comments are always appreciated! Ja ne!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Dirty Pair Flash, or Tenchi Muyo.

Author's Notes: Yet another chapter is here! As we left off our intrepid heroine had a brilliant idea for getting Madison out of the hell she was living, but what could the brilliant idea be? Would it really help? Find out now!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 12

The streets of Tokyo were bustling with activity making it easier for the somewhat shell-shocked girl to avoid detection. She was attractive but had an air about her that kept any potential perverts at a distance. The girl was predominantly Kikuko Saotome, but the body was of Madison Avenue or Gains as she discovered. Her father was a total idiot. That thing calling itself her mother nearly kills him and she's the bad guy. Nice. With a slow shake of her head, the confused girl made her way steadily towards her destination.

'Where are we going? This isn't the way to the Tendo dojo.' Madison asked in a subdued voice.

'We're going to a place where I'm sure we can get help.' Kikuko replied but her passenger seemed skeptical.

'Who would help us and for how much?' the girl asked.

'Trust me, these people will help us. We're going to the Nekohanten for assistance. They'll take us in simply because of the abuse you suffered and for the promise of a strong warrior. You've been absorbing all of my knowledge about fighting whether you know it or not and you're innate ki control is actually impressive. Not as if there isn't room for improvement, but you have the ki level of someone a decade your senior. That might be my fault however since my ki is always flowing and increasing.' Kikuko told her as she crossed the street, talking to the real owner of the body took little to no thought so she just let the talk flow.

'When you leave, will I lose all of this?' the girl asked, sounding strangely fearful, but considering what she went through it was understandable.

'Oh please. From your memories I could see that you were in rhythmic gymnastics and martial arts and have continued to practice whenever your mom wasn't around. Simply put, you got my knowledge and your prior training. It would put your skill at around maybe Akane in the Art, but with your focus you could stand up to Ukyou the okonomiyaki chef.' The redhead told her charge.

'My mom can't hurt me now…' Madison thought in wonder as she remembered what Kikuko had done. A simple stomp had broken the maniac woman's hand easily as if it were rice paper. She was only using a little ki and with what she learned she knew that her ki would be sufficient. The girl wanted to jump for joy and try some of this stuff out but Kikuko was in control.

'You wanna play a little? Then you can!' Kikuko thought devilishly as she thrust the natural owner's persona forward. It was a rush for Madison to once again be in control but instead of panicking she kept walking normally. The girl was finally noticing the easy way she was walking and knew that this is what confidence could do. She decided to take a short cut through an alleyway that her new friend recommended.

"Whew…what a nice figure on this one huh?" a voice said in a leering tone. Her first response was to cringe and hunch but her friend was telling her to stand firm. She noticed there were several of them. Punks from a different high school that had decided to skip school to find girls. The familiar sense of powerlessness had a different side effect this time.

"I'm tired of being so weak…if Kikuko can do it then so can I. A woman can be as strong as she wants to be and I am STRONG!" she shouted at the boys circling her causing them to back off a step. Without stopping to wonder how she would beat them, the girl acted. A core tenet of the Anything Goes Style is the ability to adapt on the fly and with power and skill comes the ability to adapt to any situation at a moment's notice. With a fierce cry one thug was flattened by a sharp blow to the stomach while his buddy standing beside him experienced difficulty seeing straight from the palm strike dead on his nose. A spinning knuckle let the boy behind her know that she was aware he was there and a sudden sweep left the remaining young man's world in a whirl. It was the work of a few minutes to beat them. None of Kikuko's amazing ki but plenty of skill. Madison was thrilled because it was all her!

"Yeah, don't come around here again or you'll get more of the same!" she exclaimed in a cocky tone that her friend found amusing before sashaying away from the scene of the crime leaving four stunned and beaten would-be thugs in her wake.

'Very good and very quick. Playing with your opponent is never encouraged since it can often give you a false sense of power. Finishing your opponent quickly is the proper way to go. And against multiple attackers, never lose sight of them. You did very well for your first real fight.' Kikuko congratulated her causing the girl to flush with pride. It was amazing what somewhat reaffirming your abilities could do for you she thought happily.

'Give me enough time and I'll be one of the best in Nerima right?' the girl asked, preening visibly. How could Kikuko tell her that she still had a long way to go? Then it hit her. This was either the past or an alternate world. Either way, the people here aren't as strong as in her own place. In terms of skill levels, she had indeed hit the nail on the head except for one thing. Even Shampoo would be swept under by this suddenly cheerful and enthusiastic girl. The rest of the trip to the Nekohanten went off without a hitch. She practically bounced through the door in a display of bubbly cheerfulness that made even Shampoo pause.

"Ah! Nihao customer! Are you here for too too good ramen?" she asked cheerfully.

"May I speak with your great grandmother Cologne? I mean….Ku Lon?" Madison asked in a respectful tone. The Amazon looked briefly startled at the outsider girl who spoke so respectfully before nodding once and heading into the back after directing the girl to a booth.

'I hope the old mummy is as kind as she was when I was a child. She comes off harsh but she really is a sweet old woman. She tended to be everyone's grandmother eventually but she may have more bark on her right now.' Kikuko told her before briefly going over the plan again for clarification. In the meantime, the ancient Matriarch made her way to the table. Cologne noticed the girl sitting at the table was the same girl from the night before but something seemed different. She was full of confidence and vitality, but what could have made her so upset last night? According to Mousse this slip of a girl had nearly mangled him. The Amazon Matriarch was certain it had to do with Ranma somehow; she chuckled wryly at the thought before sitting across from her.

"You wished to speak with me?" Cologne asked. It took all of the girl's willpower not to stare in amazement at the shrunken mummy sitting with her but wisely kept her opinions to herself.

"I wish to become an Amazon." She told the old woman as she unconsciously sat a little straighter before nearly falling from her chair when the old woman laughed.

"No offense child…but why should I allow you to join us?" Cologne asked in a voice filled with mirth which almost vanished when the girl's face took a drastic downward turn.

"I have nowhere to go. My mother is an abusive bitch and my father is an oblivious, ineffective man that is apparently ruled by his penis. I can't go back to that…I-I'm still trying to shake off the effects…" Madison told her while trying not to cry. Kikuko was all set to coach her but the honest approach seemed to be working pretty well. The matriarch sat back, pondering quietly. The girl wasn't lying, she could tell that much. She was an impressive young martial artist, nowhere near Shampoo but quite good. However, tradition needed to be upheld. For a person to be admitted into an Amazon tribe they needed to first beat an Amazon and…well…suddenly the old woman burst into a fit of uncharacteristic giggles. The supplicant looked briefly hurt as she tried to understand the hilarity.

"O-oh dear…o-o-oh my…I knew today was going to be fun…and now I'm right. Normally the only way a person can become an Amazon is through marriage or by besting an Amazon. You did the second one yesterday so all we have to do is get him to admit that you were the one. Simple really. Hey Mr. Part-Time!" she shouted to the kitchen. A surly head popped out with a grumble.

"What is ya old bat?" he asked her sourly. Cologne motioned for him to come over. When he was within striking range she bonked him with her staff. When asked if Madison was the one who beat him, he wanted to deny it, but didn't. He had heard from Cologne how bad off she was last night and didn't have the heart to refuse her. With that in mind, he consented.

"Good boy, there will be a little something extra in your pay this week as well as a raise. As her sponsor, she is now your family. Congratulations Mousse, you have a sister." Cologne proclaimed and smiled at his dumbstruck expression. He was a brother now? The myopic boy looked to his new sister with a slight smile which Madison found to be rather pleasant. Since he was her brother now…she started by perfecting her Amazon Glomp on her brother.

"Shampoo think Mousse not so bad. For a male." The purple haired vixen said with a small smile at the scene before going back to the customers.

"Enough of the shenanigans you two. As Mousse's sister you now work here so get on a waitress outfit. Your agility training begins right now." Cologne said with a smile before heading back into the kitchen. The new siblings were already adjusting to one another nicely.

-Later that day-

'Agility training she calls it but I call it torture! Still, it is nicer than Mom's abuse. I get compliments, tips, and I have a brother now too. I gotta admit Kiku-chan this was the best idea anyone came up with.' Madison thought to the drowsing girl. Kikuko smiled slightly. The waitress uniform was one of Shampoo's dresses. Due to the height difference, Madison was an inch or so taller, it made the already short length of the skirt shorter. It was no wonder her tips were so good.

'The Old Ghoul ain't so bad and it was nice of her to call you granddaughter. I can't wait to see how this all turns out but so far it has turned out for the best.' The redhead told her new friend as the bell rang. Madison looked to the door and started her greeting.

"Welcome to the Nekohanten! Oh…crap…" she murmured as the vision before her became clearer. Her mother was in the doorway with her arm through her dad's. The two of them stared at her with an intensity that could be felt. Her eyes wandered to the bandage on her mother's hand before gulping and directing her gaze back upward.

"What are you doing here Madison? Go home. We'll talk later." The woman hissed.

"You should listen to your mother." The man told her. The two of them were obviously together on this. She wanted to crawl into a corner and die right now but her stubbornness asserted itself.

"I'm sorry but you seem to have the wrong person. My name is…Mihoshi Saotome." The girl blurted out without any preamble whatsoever. She had fished through her memories as well as Kikuko's to come up with the name. Her resident snorted in laughter at the interesting shade of red her friend's face was turning. There was no danger to her here so it was okay to find it funny. At that moment, Cologne pogo-hopped her way over.

"Granddaughter there are customers to attend to." She told the girl, shooing her off before turning to the parents. Drawing herself up to full height may not have seemed impressive, but she was pulling all three-thousand years of Amazonian tradition about herself like a visible cloak. If she realized how impressive she looked and how formidable, she might have tried it on Ranma.

"That's my daughter old woman and I want her back." Jessica demanded angrily before faltering under the woman's withering gaze.

"Get out of my restaurant. You have no right to scare the help or order me around. Leave **immediately**." The ancient woman boomed before returning to the kitchen. Amidst the jeers and agreements of the patrons, the two of them left quickly. Madison was standing nearby in shock all the while her friend laughed her redhead off. Mousse came out of the kitchen to stand with her. He was taking his new responsibility seriously and appreciated the gravity of the situation, but even he found it a little funny.

"Mihoshi Saotome?" he asked in amusement. Madison blinked at him owlishly causing him to force down thoughts of how cute she looked. Those wide, innocent eyes and that sweet smile made him angry at anyone who could mistreat her. Kikuko recognized the determination on her Uncle Mousse's face. He would fulfill his duties through Hell and high water. The girl in question leaned against him for support which he readily gave. She wanted to cry because of how good it felt. In just a couple days she had felt more familial warmth than in all her years on earth. She could easily become addicted to this.

'I must have done the right thing…I must have…so now to watch what develops I guess.' Kikuko thought happily as she settled in but someone had other plans. Without even a chance to say goodbye, the startled girl was pulled from Madison's mind and ended up somewhere familiar.

Right in front of Tsunami.

"Wha…?" she asked intelligently. Tsunami was gazing at her with love and kindness, but also with quite a bit of mirth.

"I simply meant for you to keep her from killing herself after school which is what would have happened had you not intervened. Instead you took her away from her primary source of depression, introduced her to the Saotomes and Tendos, and got her made an Amazon with Mousse as her brother. How you could do that with barely any information to go on is beyond me. Or maybe I had put you too close to home. Either way, results are results, and these were the best results. Don't die again any time soon or I will be cross with you. Still, I think that you definitely have a future in this business." The Goddess told her.

"Is she going to be okay? I really don't want to leave unless I know for sure. Please tell me." Kikuko begged in a small voice. She really had no right to make demands but this was eating at her.

"She returns to the Amazon village with Mousse in a week's time to secure her confirmation in the tribe. A test is held to determine where to place her and because of your coaching she is more than capable of taking the position of second best in the village. She goes back to Nerima with her brother who is now an honored citizen for bringing such a fine warrior to the tribe. Madison, or Mihoshi as she's called in jest, was present for the battle with Revi's minions and Happosai where she distinguished herself for holding her own against several Arkazoids single-handedly. Not too bad if I do say so myself. Because you passed the Ascension Ceremony with such high marks you may take your place with Jurain nobility and have access to the power of the Light Hawk Wings. Anything further to ask?" Tsunami asked with a polite air but it was clear this interview was over. Still, it made the girl swell with pride to realize how much she actually did, but to find out she was now considered nobility? That made her head spin. Seeing her silence as no more questions, the Goddess sent her charge back to her friends.

-Galaxy Police Cruiser-

Mihoshi was depressed. The interior of the ship was decked out in black to suit her mood. Her friends were on the Lovely Angel grieving together but she refused to be with them. It was her own stupidity that lead to this. It had to be. Kikuko was too strong and too smart to have been killed alone. It was her fault. She knew the honorable thing would be to join her friend in death but it wouldn't be the responsible thing. There were people still alive who needed her. It had been over a week since the Saotome girl died in the fight with Kagato and she had yet to file the paperwork. She wouldn't until she could talk to Ranma and Birdy herself to accept whatever retribution they wished to offer. Her eyes fell to the picture on the console. She couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes were dry and would be unable to sustain tears however the self loathing served just as well.

"Oh Kiku-chan…" Mihoshi moaned softly before schooling her features. She couldn't allow her own weakness to stop her. It hurt so much that she would never see her friend again but her heart ached every time she thought of her as just her friend. The blonde groaned in annoyance with herself for having those thoughts.

"I love you…" she whispered, so caught up in her despair she missed the door opening. An amused voice broke her from her reverie.

"That's nice to hear Mihoshi-chan." The voice said. The police girl's eyes widened to dinner plates before spinning in her flight chair. Leaning casually against the doorway was a ghost. It had to be, but she prayed it was real. When the familiar redhead touched her shoulder it was clear she was the real thing. With a wail, the young woman clutched her friend tightly as if she would never let go. Without hesitation, Kikuko returned the hug with equal intensity, but nothing prepared her for what happened next. Mihoshi grabbed the back of her head and kissed her so hotly it made her hair stand out.

'Wow! I didn't know Mihoshi loved me like this! I mean I never thought of being with another girl before…brain shutting…down…' Kikuko thought dreamily as the sweet loss of oxygen got to her. It would be many minutes before either one could speak.

-Lovely Angel-

Ranko growled at ARMS II in hatred. It was the perfect weapon given to her perfect sister. This same perfect sister who was the most powerful martial artist in the universe as even their parents admitted. The fact that she died relying on something that she built was causing her indescribable anguish. The young girl's strangely ancient eyes stared at the reconstructed monstrosity before her. Despite her hatred of the thing, it was her sister's and should not have remained damaged. The redhead punched it with all her might only to get a dull clang in response. It just wasn't fair! Kagato should have been nothing! She never thought it would be easy but it was ridiculous. The deranged scientist kept returning like some lame RPG boss and Ranko got careless. It was the only conclusion. She had become careless with her big sister. Poor Hawk, or Peregrine as he was actually named, was going to be distressed as well. He knew he was no match for his sister but the two of them communicated through their fists easier than people did with words.

"I hate the universe…a universe that allows my sister to die…" she couldn't finish the statement. She was rapidly building energy for the mother of all Shi Shi Hokodans but a gentle hand stopped her. The girl glared at who dared to interrupt her only to find herself staring into the eyes of the younger Amazon Matriarch. Cologne took in the other girl's aura with a glance and decided that something needed to be done. Her own grief could come later as she gathered the stricken redhead into her arms, allowing her soothing aura to wash over them both. Ranko clung to her as a child holds onto its mother and wept bitterly until she fell into a troubled sleep.

"The universe isn't so bad child…you'll understand." Cologne whispered before, under the watchful eyes of Tick and Tock, she carried the girl to one of the rooms on the ship.

-The Bridge-

Kei was the only one on duty. Yuri and Toma were somewhere sound asleep comforting one another in their grief which left the orange-haired girl to her own devices. It sucked. They had luck in spades and had more than enough to even get other people out of trouble with it, but the one time their luck should have kicked in, it ran out. Kikuko paid the price for their blind faith and it bothered her. If she couldn't shoot it, she didn't want to know about it had been her motto but this was far out of her league.

"Maybe if I had known more this wouldn't have happened." She sighed as she kept the ship moving. Her eyes strayed to the GP cruiser and her heart went out to her cousin. It was obvious she loved the redhead and now it wouldn't happen. After hearing about Jusenkyo and the Spring of the Drowned Man she had found herself wondering if Mihoshi or Kikuko would jump in. Strangely enough, the idea of a bunch of little brats to spoil was appealing. But that wasn't going to happen now. No way it could happen. Oh well, maybe she could talk to her cousin and try to alleviate some of her sorrow, however when she kicked on the com unit she was treated to a very strange sound. It sounded like something that Yuri described once as "knocking boots" and it could not have been at a stranger time.

"Maybe she's not feeling as bad as I thought…?" she thought in confusion before a particularly loud cry called out "Mihoshi" and another called out "Kikuko". In a stunned state, Kei flicked off the com system before turning her attention back to the space before her. That didn't last long as the girl processed what she heard. With a loud yell of glee she punched on the intercom and caroled over it.

"Kikuko's alive!"

End Chapter

Author's Notes: I figured I should end the chapter on a bizarre note. Did Kei really hear what she thought she hear or was it something else? I guess you have to wait until the next update to find out. Thank you all for reading and ja ne!


	13. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Birdy the Mighty, Dirty Pair Flash, or Tenchi Muyo.

Author's Notes: Finally, after all this time, it is finished. I have struggled with painful writer's block for some time to craft this story. No I will not be tying up all the loose ends nice and tidy. Real life rarely does that so why should a story? Well, with that out of the way, time to get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Epilogue:

Last Entry

Ranko's Journal

The wedding was today. It was held in the Dojo on the first day of summer. I couldn't remember a time that I cried harder or more purely as when I saw my sister wed Mihoshi. It has been several weeks since the fall of Kagato and my sister returning from the land of the dead. I can't explain how relieved I was to see my big sister, alive and well. Apparently the Goddess of Jurai had a firm hand in what happened. Thank you Tsunami.

It had been a week after Kikuko's death when Kei came over the speaker to tell us that she was actually alive. Alive! Cologne was with me and she couldn't stop crying either. I wanted to transport over there immediately but the 3WA girl stopped me. When I demanded to know why she blushed a terrible shade of red. I got the picture immediately thanks to me being the greatest scientific genius in the universe! Aside from Washu-sensei that is.

It still took us some time to get to Earth after that. There was no rush really so we just meandered when the strangest thing happened. I wasn't privy to the knowledge of my sister suddenly becoming Juraian royalty so seeing a space tree ship was definitely unexpected. A delegate requested permission to board from the Shuzoya-ho, one of the higher ships in the fleet actually, a second generation space tree. They had arrived to confirm the rumors of a Juraian noble suddenly appearing. There was quite a bit of explaining to do there!

My sister still refuses to let me examine her…shucks.

It resulted in a massive detour to Jurai much to my sister's displeasure not to mention Mihoshi's. It was while we were on Jurai that we found out about Kikuko's curse. That was certainly a shock for all including the Emperor. He wanted to meet her and ascertain her validity. Too bad he decided to test that by combat. My sister's skill and power augmented by the Light Hawk Wings? That provided me with a lot of interesting data. Too bad the practice arena will need to be fixed. It was also that same week that we picked up my sister's space tree.

That was another shock as she bonded to a second generation tree chosen by Tsunami for her. Yuki-ho is a good companion to my sister. It caused a stir among the nobility to know that sis could turn into a guy. That sure caused a ruckus. In the ensuing chaos we kind of bolted with half the fleet behind us. I like Kikuko's ship and even managed to work in the same integration procedures that allow the Lovely Angel and GP Cruiser to combine. We still don't know how that will turn out.

The wedding was hilarious actually. Apparently Tsunami was stretching the truth when she said all would be forgotten of Kagato. The Masaki family showed up remembering everything! That was pretty cool actually. Tenchi sure filled out nicely even if he isn't my type even if his wives are my type. Yes, he married all the women that were staying with him including Mihoshi's old partner Kiyone who showed up looking for our blonde wonder. What a change the time made. Since all of them were married they pretty much just stopped aging. The biggest surprise was the changes wrought on Sasami. Too bad she's taken.

Oh well, I guess it's time for me to rest my weary head. Too many experiments to oversee tomorrow. Good night diary.

Yuri's Diary

Toma and I were married today alongside our friends Mihoshi, Kikuko, and Cologne. I know it's a surprise but apparently the girl couldn't stand to be without her and our favorite redhead is a softy. It was a sweet service and there were a lot of people there for the nuptials. There was my family, Toma's family, Kikuko's family, Mihoshi's family took up a whole side of the dojo themselves, and several delegates from Jurai. Apparently they were there to give Kikuko and Mihoshi a traditional Juraian wedding which we ended up getting included on by association.

Toma doesn't seem to be complaining that we're married under two religions. I like having the extra hold on him.

It's hard to believe that we actually defeated Kagato. Then again I shouldn't be surprised considering who we had helping us. Juraian nobility, two super geniuses, quite possibly the universe's most powerful martial artist, and a Chinese Amazon matriarch. We had enough combined firepower to wipe out a space fleet.

In the wake of Kikuko's sacrifice I felt numb. She was the most powerful person I knew and she was gone trying to save us. That's something I will never forget as long as I live. We all love her to different degrees but it was clear when she came back who loved her the most. Poor Mihoshi was devastated in the aftermath. We tried to be there for her but she would have none of it. I felt powerless when Kikuko died and it was almost as if she wanted to follow her. That was a whole new level of powerlessness, but she stayed alive out of sheer willpower to deliver the news herself. It's a good thing she did.

I never want to see another tragedy like that happen again.

My husband and I discovered while we were on Jurai that I was pregnant. We forgot to use protection several times before going to fight Kagato figuring we weren't going to make it anyway. That threw us for a loop. When I asked how it could have happened Ranko proceeded to give us a graphic description of how. She really is a little pervert with no sense of privacy and Washu-chan is no better.

I still remember how frightening it was when the two of them met for the first time. If Washu wasn't already taken I'm pretty sure Ranko would have kidnapped her. The girl is a genius, yes, but she is definitely a mad genius. I felt sorry for Kei when she was reunited with her family. Apparently she got most of the brains in the family as many of them seemed to be…ditzy. Mihoshi isn't so bad really. It's a good act she's got even if it is painfully obvious she's not the universe's best thinker. Neither am I and proud of it.

Then I found myself on the receiving end of quite a few enthusiastic hugs as Kei introduced me. Then it moved on to Toma and our families. My ribs are still aching but at least I was in good company. Ranma and Birdy were so proud of their daughter I thought they would burst. Especially with the news that she and Mihoshi had been promoted to detective. The same rank as they are.

There were quite a few people there that were quite odd. Coming from a universal traveler that is saying something. One of them was a Phoenix Lord named Saffron who apparently ended up being Kikuko's godfather as well as the Emperor of the Musk Herb who was also a godparent. Then there was Pantyhose Taro who turns into a monster with cold water and runs his own lingerie chain. Somehow I think even I get the irony of that one. So many people showed up that Ranma had fought and defeated that I expected war to break out. They all just wanted to test skills against one another and left with Birdy in tow. I wish I could have seen that fight.

Ah well, my husband has just returned from the furo so I need to go. There is quite a bit to discuss with my darling and not enough hours in the night. Good night diary.

Kikuko's Journal

It's been awhile since I spoke to you last as I can see by the dusty cover. There just hasn't been enough to tell you that I felt worth the trouble. Today that all changed drastically. I'm married now. I used to write about how I hoped my Martial Arts Prince would come someday and sweep me off my feet. Who knew that my ideals would have changed to a hot blonde with tan skin and an adorable clueless act? I guess I'm the Martial Arts Prince sweeping the girl off her feet. Not to mention the Amazon I accidentally conquered as well. Apparently she fell for me because of my Saotome charm.

I'm going to kill my father for that particular affliction.

The guest list was absolutely enormous and the dojo almost wasn't big enough. Mom and Dad were there of course much to my delight. My brother Hawk ended up being my best man since I don't have any guy friends aside from him. We made the joke about a careful application of cold water turning him into my maid of honor. Aunt Shampoo was there as Cologne's maid of honor with Kiyone as Mihoshi's. They were old friends who were separated by a temporal rift much like the ones I kept causing.

I felt like I was trapped in a rogue's gallery of former enemies of my parents. Kind of cool really. There was Taro who showed with his wife Lace. Saffron with his guardian Kima. Herb with his wife Spice. Ryu Kumon with Natsume. The list goes on. I thought the wedding was going to be preempted for a free-for-all but it waited until after the nuptials. Daddy and I would have had words over that.

The biggest surprise of all was when Madison ran up and almost bowled me over in a fierce hug, crying her eyes out. We shared a good cry as I explained who she was. Oh wow that felt so good to see her again! She had brought her husband as well as their daughter. She named her after me! I almost started crying again but managed to hold it back. Obviously her life had turned out a hell of a lot better. She is now Aunt Shampoo's equal in the martial arts. Quite an accomplishment as well as being another Anything Goes practitioner. She ended up going with my parents for their tremendous martial arts extravaganza.

Give 'em hell Madison.

I am now Juraian nobility. If I so chose I could throw my hat in and become Empress someday without having to wait for Yosho or Tenchi. They both looked miserable when I gleefully pointed out that I wasn't going to do it. Petty? Yes, but I don't want to play in politics.

My wives and I are about to go on a long training trip. To them it's perfectly romantic and that makes me even warmer inside. Cologne starts her training for the Galaxy Police in the spring. Oh well, it is getting late and judging from the looks I'm getting it's going to be a quite a bit later before I go to bed.

Good night journal and thanks for being there.

Ranma's Journal

Who would have guessed that my life would have changed so drastically? Years ago I was on the fast track to marrying Akane and total burnout. Now I'm here with my beautiful wife, with three incredibly amazing children, and a fulfilling career in law enforcement. I wouldn't trade this joy for anything.

The wistful look on Akane's face when she watched Kikuko tying the knot, wearing her cursed form, was almost painful. I'm just glad that she's coped. She's still alone after all this time but not for lack of opportunity. She prefers the single life and has become the pervert she used to accuse me of being. Nice to see we all grow up sometime if you can call that growing up.

Nabiki was there with her husband. It's almost impossible to believe that she ended up with Tatewaki Kuno unless you remember an important fact. He's loaded. She's not as shallow as she used to be and he's not as delusional. Their son just turned ten and a more proud young kendoist you won't find anywhere. Even if his father isn't that supremely confident. At least he has the skills to back up his boasts.

Kasumi and Ryoga were there as well much to my shock. They love to travel which is easy for them to do. He takes two steps without his GPS and he's liable to end up in Hackensack or something. I didn't expect to see Ryo however. That's always a distinct pleasure considering he's my youngest daughter's best friend and the only one durable enough to put up with her experiments. He disappeared before the wedding dinner and I thought we wouldn't see him again. When Kikuko tossed the bouquet a strange girl with short brown hair and green eyes caught it. I almost laughed out loud when I recognized the "girl". I thought the poor kid got lost at Jusenkyo but it turned out he went deliberately! He's so in love with Ranko that he actually cursed himself so he could be with her!

If my daughter plays with his feelings I'm going to evaluate her. Then again Birdy did give her a long talking to when it became obvious how he felt. Hopefully something comes of it because I would hate for him to have cursed himself for nothing. I wonder when I should tell the children they can expect another sibling? Not now certainly.

This has been a long night and I have injuries to nurse. Good night journal.

The pages turn and close as the pigtailed man turns out the lights.

The End

Author's Notes: Thank god I managed to finish this! Hope you all can forgive me but I think it's time I cleaned up my unfinished stories. Thank you all for reading. Ja ne!


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